In Love and War
by Lady Une-chan a.k.a. Mirai
Summary: FINALLY COMPLETED! CH. 12 IS UP! A story about how Mirai and Bright come to realize that they truly love each other. Happens right after Mobile Suit Gundam.
1. Mirai's Story

In Love and War  
  
By Lady Une-chan  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Mobile Suit Gundam. A few elements might contradict the show. I'm sorry if this happened. But it does spoil Z Gundam. I also included a bit a Beatles song, which I don't own either. Oh, I also don't own Monty Python.  
  
Author's Note: Some details, i.e. Mirai's birthday, etc., I made up. I don't really know how Mirai or Bright's parents died, or if all of them are dead. (I know that General Yashima is definitely dead.) Also, I strongly believe that Mirai didn't really have feelings for Slugger Rowe. She sorted liked Cameron, but on more sibling like terms. I believe that the only reason that Mirai kissed Slugger (actually, wasn't it visa versa?) was because she, being half a Newtype, knew that he was going to die. It was much more that obvious that she had deep feelings for Bright and shows it through her actions (staying by his bedside when he was ill, for example). And even more obvious was Bright's feelings for Mirai. This fanfiction is strictly a Mirai and Bright one. (They are my favs!) Amuro, Sayla, and others from the White Base crew will have guest appearances, but are not focused on. (Not that I have anything against them, but I'm saving them another fic and another time and place.) If you like Cameron or Slugger, I suggest you stop reading this fic now, because I don't think either one of them truly cared about Mirai. (Cameron seemed after her money, and Slugger is just a troublemaker. Eh, was a troublemaker.) I've seen all of Mobile Suit Gundam except the following episodes: The episode titled Char and Sayla, because it was supposed to play on 9-11-01, and it wasn't a very appropriate show to play on that day (well I didn't think Dragonball Z was a very appropriate show either), or the second to the last episode. I did manage to see last episode on Toonami's New Years Ev-il. I've also seen all of Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, but that doesn't really pertain to this fafiction. Unfortunately, I've yet to seen Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket or Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory, but still, it won't change the context of this story. (I've also seen Gundam Wing three times, and own all the tapes, but that has nothing to do with MSG.) I haven't seen Z Gundam yet, due to the fact it hasn't been translated yet, or released in the USA. (I probably would be able to understand it in Japanese, but I don't even have the raw tapes!) Of course, I decided to read the spoilers and find out the shocking informantion that (don't continue if you don't want a spoiler!) Mirai and Bright get married! Yatta! Anyway, in Z Gundam, they've been married for about seven years and have two kids, so I decided to write the story that goes in between. Nothing in this fanfiction really happens except obvious flashbacks and of course them getting married. (Bright's love for the Beatles was created by me!) If anything in this fic strongly contradicts with Z Gundam or Mobile Suit Gundam itself (I own the first two tapes, but I'm a little shaky on the end) please let me know. Also, I know that their son's name is Hathaway, but what is their daughter's name? I seen Charmin, Charmane, Charlemge, Charlotte, etc. (Quite funny that they all start will "char".) Please tell me what her name is!  
  
Arigato!  
  
Lady Une-chan  
  
  
  
Chapter One: Mirai's Story  
  
I think I've seen more in my lifetime than an eighty year old man.  
  
And I'm only eighteen.  
  
My name is Mirai Yashima, and I've lived a pretty complicated life. And now that the year is UC 0080, I believe that it's getting to be more tangled.  
  
I was born in Tokyo, Japan, on September 13, UC 0061. My father was a general in the Earth's Federation. He was stationed on Side Six when I was three years old. Unfortunately, my dad died when I was six, and my mom died a year later.  
  
I was rasied by our housekeeper, Suki, but in early UC 0079, I was starting college on Side Seven when the Zeon attacked. I joined the White Base as the helmswomen.  
  
But now that the war is over, I am unsure of what to do with my life. I'm taking my second year of college, and it's pretty much random classes. I'm majoring in history, but still, I'm confused of what to do.  
  
Of course, ther is one person that I would like to see again. Actually, I'd like to spend the rest of my life with him. But he's back on Earth, and I'm back on Side Six.  
  
And of course, my ex-fiance`, the "lovely" Cameron Bloom, lives on Side Six, but I haven't seen him since the war. (Thank God!) I regret that my father set up that little engagment.  
  
And my little "fling" with Slugger. I totally regret that. I really think that I hurt Bright's feelings by not telling him right away.  
  
You see, Bright is the one that I want to spend the rest of my life with. Maybe I should go to Earth. The last time I was there, I was there for the war, and the time before that I was only three.  
  
Maybe I can surprise Bright.  
  
  
  
-- Mirai Yashima 


	2. Bright's Story

In Love and War  
  
By Lady Une-chan  
  
  
  
Chapter Two: Bright's Story  
  
I have seen too much war and bloodshed than any human being ever should see. But I guess that is what happens when you are in the army.  
  
My name is Bright Noah, and I serve in the Earth Federation army. I was born in London, England, in the year UC 0060. My parents and my sister died in a shuttle crash when I was nine. My grandfather raised me until he died when I was eighteen. I then joined the army right before my nineteenth birthday.  
  
I often wonder if I am going to be a soldier all my life. I'm not sure what else I could be. I really don't care for war, not after all the bloodshed I've seen. Sometimes I wish that the war had never happened.  
  
But then I never would have met Mirai.  
  
The crew of White Base became my family, to make up for the family I lost. I know that I often bossed them around because I was the commander, but in the end, it felt like we were a real family.  
  
Of course, I would like to marry Mirai and have a real family, but she's gone back to Side Six. I'm not sure of the real reason why she decided to go back there, but I hope it's not to patch things up with Cameron. He is a good-for-nothing, and I think he is after Mirai's money. (The Yashimas are a really rich family.) And it was quite obvious that he didn't really love her, because if you really love someone, and they don't return the same feelings, you have to let them go.  
  
When I last saw Mirai, it was when I took her to the shuttle port to go to Side Six. Right before she boarded, she hugged me and told me that we would see each other again. I know that Mirai is half-Newtype, but I think the reason she said that was because she wants to see me again.  
  
At least I hope she wants to see me again. I have leave next week, maybe I should call Mirai and ask her to came to Earth. I really do miss her.  
  
  
  
--Bright Noah 


	3. Chapter Three

In Love and War  
  
By Lady Une-chan  
  
Chapter Three: Reunited  
  
January 7, UC 0080  
  
London, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth  
  
The Noah Residence  
  
Mirai Yashima pulled the rental car into the driveway. Glancing at the sheet of paper that had a very important address written on it, she knew that this had to be it. She stared at the grand house, astonished that Bright never told her that he was almost as rich as her.  
  
Mirai went up to the massive door and hesitated. Should she have called Bright to tell him she was coming? Of course, had she told him, he would have insisted meeting her at the shuttle port, and be the overprotective man he is. Maybe this was better. She rang the doorbell.  
  
Inside, Bright Noah was sitting on the couch, channel surfing on the TV, and pondering on when he should call Mirai, when the doorbell rang. Wondering who it could be, he went over and opened the door.  
  
"Hello? Mirai!" exclaimed Bright.  
  
"Hi, it's me," Mirai answered.  
  
"Oh, uh, Mirai, come inside," he said hesitantly, escorting her in.  
  
"Wow, Bright! You have such a big house! It's practically a mansion!" Mirai said, trying to start a conversation.  
  
"Uh, thank you, Mirai," he said uncertainly, "Your house is probably bigger. You actually live in a mansion."  
  
"I do not," said Mirai blushing.  
  
They stood there in silence for awhile.  
  
"So, Mirai, what brings you here?" Bright finally asked.  
  
"I decided to come visit you. Is that okay?"  
  
"Of course that's okay, Mirai. In fact, I have the week off, and I was thinking about inviting you over."  
  
"Really?" Mirai asked.  
  
Bright nodded.  
  
"Still working for the army?"  
  
"Yeah. What have you been doing?" he asked.  
  
"I'm finishing college," she answered.  
  
Bright nodded again. He had studied at West Point. (That's how he lost his British accent!)  
  
"How long are you going to be here?" he asked her.  
  
"Oh, I'm not sure."  
  
"What don't you stay here?" suggested Bright, gesturing in a manner that made "here" mean "in my house".  
  
"Really? Are you okay with that?"  
  
"Of course, Mirai. I'll always be here waiting for you."  
  
When Mirai heard those words, she remembered the time right after Slugger died, and she didn't want to talk about it. It was then that both of them realized that if they wanted to talk about there realtionship, they were going to have to talk about it that week.  
  
"So, you must have brought some luggage," Bright said after a bit of silence.  
  
Mirai nodded. "I brought a suitcase."  
  
"Let's go get it then," said Bright and he lead the way back to the rental car. Mirai popped the trunk open, and he retrieved the suitcase.  
  
"You know, Mirai, you could have called me and I would have picked you up."  
  
"I wanted to surprise you," said Mirai, defending herself.  
  
"And what a lovely surprise it was. Most men wish they lives away for the day a beautiful women shows up on their porch."  
  
Mirai blushed, which made Bright blush too.  
  
"Anyway, we'll need to return the rental car, because we'll be using my car, plus, when the week ends, I'm going to escort you back to the shuttle port." Of course, Bright didn't want to escort Mirai to the shuttle port because he wanted to her to stay with him.  
  
Mirai stared at him. Did he want her to go?  
  
"Or, whenever you want to go home. I'll escort you then," said Bright, trying to recoup his losses.  
  
"Home?" asked Mirai. "Home? Home is not on Side Six. Sure, that's where I grew up, but it's not really my home. And niether is my house in Japan, because I don't really remember it. The closest thing to home was probably White Base!" Mirai got an upset look on her face as Bright lead her back into the house. When they got inside, Bright set her suitcase down and looked into Mirai's eyes.  
  
"Mirai, they say home is where the heart is. I just was refering to where your current residence was."  
  
Mirai sniffled and broke Bright's gaze. "It's kind of sad that the place that was most like home was a warship," she mummered.  
  
"I feel the same, Mirai. Even this place--" Bright gestured around "-- isn't my home. It doesn't feel like it."  
  
Mirai sadly looked at her feet. "We felt like family on White Base."  
  
There was another small silence, so Bright decided to take it as a cue. "Why don't I show you to your room?"  
  
Mirai looked up. "Okay, but I also want a tour of the house."  
  
Bright smiled fondly at her. "Well, this is the living room."  
  
"I kind of figured that."  
  
"And over here is the kitchen," he said leading her to the room the right.  
  
"Wow, this a big kitchen!" exclaimed Mirai.  
  
"Unfortunately, the owner of this big kitchen cannot cook."  
  
Mirai raisied an eyebrow. "I now know not to leave you alone in the kitchen."  
  
Bright laughed. "All I can make is sandwiches. Otherwise, I'll burn the house down."  
  
Mirai giggled. "Fortunately for you, I can cook. No more sandwiches for awhile."  
  
"Moving on, the laundry room's over there," Bright said waving his hand in it's direction,"and over here is the dining room," leading her into the room adjacent to the kitchen."  
  
"Oooo," said Mirai, looking at the elegant dining room. "Well, this isn't a room you'd eat in everyday. It's very fancy."  
  
"It's supposed to be for dinner parties. Of course, I haven't had one."  
  
"Oh, I'm sure someday you'll have one," said Mirai.  
  
Bright shurgged. "I guess so," he said, leading her back to the living room. "To the left is the entrance to the garage, and that's pretty much what's downstairs."  
  
So Mirai and Bright went upstairs. "There are six bedrooms. One of them is my childhood bedroom, and another is my sister's."  
  
"Ooo, let's look at your old bedroom!" exclaimed Mirai.  
  
"Okay," said Bright hesiatantly. He opened the door really slowly.  
  
"Oh my God! You really must have liked the Beatles!" Bright's room was covered in Beatles posters.  
  
"Hey, I'm English. What would you expect?"  
  
Mirai giggled. "My room on Side Six is covered with all kinds of posters."  
  
"Moving on!" decided Bright and shooed Mirai out. "I've been sleeping in the master bedroom, so you have pick of the other three rooms."  
  
Mirai nodded. "I'll take that one then," she pointing to the one closest to the master bedroom.  
  
"Then it's yours."  
  
Mirai when in and dropped her suitcase on the bed. "Okay."  
  
"Okay, what?" asked Bright.  
  
"Let's do something."  
  
"Like what?" asked Bright confused.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Well, it's about six o'clock. I normally eat a sandwich now," admitted Bright.  
  
"Ah! You mean it's time for dinner. Well then, I'll make you something," said Mirai.  
  
"Uh, that's the problem. There isn't very much to eat in the kitchen."  
  
"I'm sure there's something."  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
Mirai started downstairs. "I'm going to go find out."  
  
"Fine then," said Bright, following her.  
  
Mirai entered the kitchen and began to look for food.  
  
"See, there is nothing."  
  
"Okay, you're right. We're going to need to go shopping," she said.  
  
"I guess we'll be eating out tonight," said Bright.  
  
"I guess so."  
  
"So, what do want to eat? Fast food, or go to an actual restaurant?" asked Bright.  
  
Mirai yawned. "I don't know. Actually, I kind of tired, maybe we could just eat sandwiches."  
  
"But you said no more sandwiches."  
  
"I lied."  
  
"I know, we could order take out. You like Chinese food right?" asked Bright, heading for the phone.  
  
"Yeah. But make sure they send chopsticks," said Mirai as she sat down on the couch.  
  
"Chopsticks? Of course they send chopsticks. It's a Chinese restaurant."  
  
"I know, but some restaurants don't send chopsticks."  
  
"Mirai, I know that you can eat with a fork. Why are you worried about the chopsticks?"  
  
"I don't like to eat Japanese or Chinese food without chopsticks."  
  
"Okay," said Bright confused.  
  
So Bright ordered the food and reminded them to send chopsticks. But when he was finished, he found that Mirai had fallen asleep.  
  
Smiling fondly at her, he covered her with a blanket. Then he looked out the window. It was starting to rain.  
  
  
  
Well, this is it for now. I promise to have chapter four up by mid-week.  
  
Sayonara!  
  
Lady Une-chan 


	4. Chapter Four

3/5/02 

Gomen ne to Natsumi and the others that thought my bashing Cameron was unfair. I haven't seen Char's Counterattack, but if Cameron did something to help Bright and Mirai, then I'll accept the fact that he truly had feelings for Mirai. I am sorry if I insulted any Cameron fans.

Watashi no shazaira,

Lady Une-chan

Now on to the fic! (This chapter is not yet finished )

4/21/02

The rest of the chapter is up! I should have the next chapter up soon.

I don't own MSG, the Beatles song, Monty Python, or Harry Potter.

In Love and War

By Lady Une-chan

Chapter Four: Site-Seeing

January 8, UC 0080

London, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth

The Noah Residence

The next morning, Mirai found herself on the couch. For a minute, she forgot were she was.

"Bright!" she called.

"In the kitchen!" he called back.

Mirai got a little worried. Hopefully Bright wasn't trying to cook something. So Mirai decided to check on him.

When she entered the kitchen, Bright was seated the table, in his blue pajamas, drinking tea, and reading the newspaper.

Mirai giggled.

"What?" asked Bright, "I'm not the one who fell asleep on the couch."

"Sorry," said Mirai.

"No need to apologize."

"I guess I should make breakfast, or have you already eaten your sandwich?" asked Mirai.

"Actually, no I haven't eaten my breakfast sandwich yet," answered Bright.

"Well, due to the lack of food in this house, we'll have to have toast," said Mirai, finding the toaster.

"I'm not sure how that works," admitted Bright.

"I figured it out," said Mirai, putting four pieces of bread into the toaster.

"I hope that your little nap on the couch refreshed you because we are going sight-seeing today," said Bright.

"Really?" asked Mirai as she put the finished toast on to two plates.

"Yep."

She handed Bright a plate, set hers down, and sat down in the chair across from Bright.

"So were are we going?" asked Mirai

"You'll see."

"Okay."

"God, Mirai. This toast is good."

"I sure hope so."

"It's a good thing it stopped raining," said Bright, looking out the window.

"It was raining?" asked Mirai.

"Yeah. When you were sleeping."

"Does it rain a lot here in England?" asked Mirai, "I know it's a stereotype, but does it really rain a lot here?"

Bright laughed. "It really does rain a lot here."

After breakfast, they both when upstairs and took a shower. (Not in the same shower! My God! Get your mind out of the gutter! But my mind's always been in the gutter!) Then they headed to the garage, where Mirai was surprised to see what kind of car Bright owned.

Well, he owned a convertible.

Once the shock surpassed Mirai, she raised her eyebrow. "A convertible?"

Bright nodded, not understanding what was wrong with owning a decent car.

"A convertible? Bright, of all people, you own a convertible."

"If you want to go sight-seeing, I suggest you get in the car."

Mirai shrugged and got in the car.

Bright hopped into the car and when he started the car, a Beatles song blasted from the stereo. He quickly turned the sound down.

Mirai raised her eyebrow again.

"Oh come on, Mirai. You saw my room!"

That made her laugh. "Well then. Let's get the show on the road!"

Bright pulled out of the garage and headed to the country road that lead to central London.

"So, where are we headed?" asked Mirai.

"I'm not telling you."

"Oh, you're no fun anymore!" she said in an exaggerated British accent.

"You know Monty Python?"

Mirai rolled her eyes. "Of course. Who hasn't seen 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'?"

"Amuro. I asked him what was his name, quest, and favorite color was and he didn't get it."

Mirai laughed and started to sing along with the music.

"I didn't know you liked the Beatles," said Bright, surprised she knew all of the words.

"I'm Japanese. After Britain and America, we had the largest fan base."

"Oh, well we all know that Yoko Ono broke up the Beatles."

"Come on, Bright. The Beatles were going to break up anyway," deafened Mirai.

Original author's note before update: Well, there is more to this chapter that is not yet finished. I know that I'm making this really seem like 1980 rather than UC 0080 (Uh, that's supposed to be the future '''), but I can't help it. I'm sorry for this. Please don't flame me! – Lady Une-chan

The Rest of Chapter Four!

The country roads turned into busy traffic streets as they arrived at the train station. Tons of people in business suits whizzed by as they boarded the train.

Bright saw that Mirai was a bit confused and decided to explain. "We almost always ride by train."

Mirai nodded. "Oh, yeah, duh. It's a weekday. No wonder. All this people must be going to work."

"Now you get the picture."

As the train began to move, the scenery began to change and Mirai could tell that they were headed to central London, the one you would see on televison or in movies. She could see many of the famous landmarks: Big Ben, London Bridge, the River Thames, ect.

"Wow," said Mirai, under her breath.

"This was probably the London that you expected to see, right, Mirai?" asked Bright.

"Well, yeah. It didn't really help that the shuttleport was in the outskirts of town."

"I haven't been here in awhile myself, so don't think that I know everything, okay? I don't even have a British accent anymore."

The train came to stop and the passengers piled out. The businessmen hurried off to work, the tourists started heading in one direction. Mirai pointed in their direction, and Bright shurgged.

"Say, this isn't King's Cross, is it?" asked Mirai curiously.

"Oh, yeah it is. Why?" asked Bright, confused.

Mirai studied the platform number and smiled. "They're all headed to Platform 9 ¾."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot all about that. Everyone wants to see the legendary Harry Potter site. Some nutcases think that they've seen Harry there. I mean, it was a great book and all, but I don't think that I'm that crazy."

"Shall we?" asked Mirai, gesturing.

"Sure, it wouldn't hurt to look. Or at least try to look."

They had to wait until the crowd past to see the words "Platform 9 ¾" written on the ground. They looked at each other and shurgged. On TV, I saw this Harry Potter special, and they showed "Platform 9 ¾," which is just those words written on the ground. People really go there and look for the platform, thinking that they'll see Harry Potter, or something.

The rest of the day played out like a dream that Mirai had only imagined. They visited all the famous places of London including Big Ben, the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, etc. But what Mirai really liked was being able to be with Bright. In fact, a couple of people thought they were newlyweds. Of course, when confronted, Bright would blush bright red (ignore the pun), and Mirai would just smile sweetly and tell the questioners that they were "just friends."

That got Bright thinking. Was Mirai just a friend? He never really gave a name to the realtionship that they had. He had always thought they were much closer than friends.

"Bright?" Mirai asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"What?"

"What time is it? My clock is still programmed for Side Six time."

"Oh," said Bright, turning his wrist to see his watch, "It's six o'clock. Why? Are you getting hungry?"

Mirai nodded.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Definitely not a sandwich," teased Mirai.

"Stop being so mean. What do you want for dinner?"

"I don't know. What do you want?" asked Mirai.

"Whatever you want."

"Fine, I'll be the decision maker. Hmm... Italian?"

"Okay, Italian it is. I know a place that serves the best pasta, but it will take a while to walk there. Is that fine?" asked Bright.

"Sure," said Mirai as she took Bright's hand. This, of course, made Bright blush, but he still let her hold his hand.

They had a great time at dinner, and it was a good way to close the day. However, just as they were leaving, Mirai got a worried look on her face.

"What's wrong?" asked Bright.

"I think someone following us."

"Why?"

"I just can sense it."

Bright just nodded. Mirai was part Newtype. But he was afraid to believe that someone was following them. Why would someone want to follow them? He began to think of the possibilities as they went home. He was a Federation soldier; maybe it was a Zeon spy. Mirai was rich; maybe somebody wanted to kidnap her or something. Both of them had worked on White Base. That sort of made them famous. Maybe the follower was a crazed fan wanting their autographs. All Bright knew was he didn't like this and was worried what this follower might want.


	5. Chapter Five

5/302  
  
I added the rest of chapter four awhile ago, however, the website did not show that I updated the fic, because it didn't upload a new chapter. So make sure you read the end of chapter four before reading this chapter!  
  
~Lady Une-chan  
  
  
  
Chapter Five [I've decided to get rid of the chapter names. They were all stupid anyway.]  
  
  
  
January 8, UC 0080  
  
London, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth  
  
The Noah Residence  
  
After Bright and Mirai returned home, Mirai realized that she really tried, and her body still han't adjusted to the time change from Side Six. Sleeply, she climbed up the stairs, deciding that it was time to go to bed. As she headed up to her bedroom, she passed Bright's sister's room. Curiosity overtook her, and looking to make sure Bright wasn't watching her, she entered the room. As soon as she walked in, she knew she should turn around and leave; it was the gut feeling that always right, but Mirai decided to try and battle that feeling, and flicked on the lights in the room.  
  
The room was very-- well, only one word could truly explain it-- pink. Mirai knew that Bright was about nine when his family died in that shuttle crash; so his sister was probably only about five or six she went on that fatal flight. Of course, most five year-old girls liked being, well, girly. The room was cluttered with stuffed animals and dolls, and a bookshelf in the corner contained tons of children's books. A table was set up in another corner, and looked ready for a tea party, with all the dishes lied out. The bedspead and canopy were pink, as were the walls. Mirai smiled to herself; her room back in her family's mansion in Tokyo probably looks like this, being that she was three when she lived there last.  
  
But the funny thing was that the room wasn't covered in dust. In fact, the room looked well kept, as if his sister still lived there, as if someone took care of it--  
  
"Mirai," said a stern voice from behind.  
  
Mirai gulped, wondering if Bright was going to yell at her like he yelled at Sayla and Amuro. Bright had never yelled directly at her before.  
  
So she turned slowly around and said, "Yes, Bright?" He stood in the door frame with a sad look upon his face.  
  
"What are you doing in here?" he asked in his military voice, despite his facial expression.  
  
"I was looking in your sister's room," she managed to say. She knew this was a bad idea.  
  
"Why?" he asked, his voice all of a sudden soft.  
  
"Because, well, I got curious. I-- I'm sorry Bright," said Mirai looking up at him.  
  
"I didn't say you could go in here."  
  
"You-- you didn't tell me I couldn't," Mirai said with fear in her voice.  
  
"I miss my family, Mirai. I was nine when they died. I remember them all too well. Your parents died when you were six and seven. You don't really remember them, do you?" asked Bright.  
  
"No, not really. I was too young..." said Mirai trailing off.  
  
Bright beckoned for Mirai to leave the room. After she left, he shut the door with a thud.  
  
"You see, I try to keep my sister's room the way it was. And I try to keep my childroom the same, you know, to preserve history," he said as they climbed down the stairs.  
  
"But what about your parents' room? You sleep in there now," stated Mirai, as they walked out onto the patio.  
  
"Well, one day I plan to marry--" started Bright, but he managed to cut himself off before he said the word "you."  
  
Mirai looked at him awkwardly.  
  
"And have children," he said to finish.  
  
Mirai turned her back to him. "I'm in the way, aren't I? I'll just go home. It was nice visiting you, friend." As started to walk back inside.  
  
"No, Mirai, please don't leave!" said Bright, pleadingly.  
  
"Why? Why should I stay? You said I was part of your family, but now you say that miss your family, and you don't want me in your sister's room! I'm in your way, and you can't find a wife to fill up that gap! I might as well go!"  
  
"Mirai! Stop it!"  
  
"Why shouldn't I leave?"  
  
"Because I love you!"  
  
Mirai started to respond, but instead pushed Bright out of the way of something.  
  
But why?  
  
He soon found out a few seconds later as he heard the sound of a gunshot.  
  
Mirai stepped back into Bright's arms, her right hand holding on to her left side. Blood trickled through her fingers.  
  
Bright's eyes widened in alarm and carefully pulled them down until they were sitting on the ground. Mirai leaned on him, still holding her side.  
  
Bright turned his head to face the attacker. A forty-something man was standing at the edge of the patio, holding a gun and shaking. The man looked as if he might be homeless. Bright assumed that the man was insane.  
  
The man, still shaking, put the gun to his head. "I'm sorry," he said.  
  
Bright squeezed his eyes shut and turned away from the man. He heard another gunshot. The man had killed himself.  
  
Bright focused his attention on Mirai, whose hand had become covered in blood. It was quite obvious that she had been shot in the side.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "But I had to do that."  
  
"No you didn't," said Bright, shaking his head.  
  
"Yes, I did. I love you, Bright," Mirai said, as she managed to smile despite the pain.  
  
Bright tried to smile back, but he was too worried. "Look, we need to call the paramedics."  
  
Suddenly, they heard the sound at breaking tree branches. Bright wheeled around, thinking it was another attacker.  
  
Sayla Mass was standing with a medical bag with bits leaves stuck in her hair.  
  
"Where in the heck did you come from?" asked Bright, astonished.  
  
"Out of the tree," said Sayla, brushing herself off.  
  
"What?" asked Bright, still puzzled.  
  
"I'll explain later," said Sayla.  
  
Bright sat there, dazed.  
  
"Call the paramedics," said Sayla slowly, drawing out each syllable.  
  
That finally woke him and he scambled up.  
  
"I haven't finished the fourth year of medical school yet, Bright. Hurry up!" commanded Sayla, waving her hand in the direction of the sliding glass door that lead back inside.  
  
Bright nodded and ran inside. Hastily, he picked up the phone and dialed the emegency number and told the operator what had happened. The operator imformed him that help was on the way. As he went to run outside, he almost crashed into Sayla.  
  
"She's unconscious, Bright," said Sayla, "I need you to carry her inside."  
  
Bright gupled and nodded.  
  
"She's going to fine. I promise," said Sayla confidently.  
  
"Thank you, Sayla."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
This was awkward for them. Bright and Sayla always squabbled and never really got along. But yet, Sayla here and helping him. Of course, Bright still didn't understand why Sayla was in the trees or whatever. But that didn't matter right now. He was greatful to Sayla for she was here to save Mirai's life.  
  
Owari for now! Hee hee hee, just gonna leave ya hangin'! I will explain the insane man and Sayla falling out of the tree in the next chapter, as they arte being explained to Mirai. Please review, but please don't flame.  
  
~Lady Une-chan 


	6. Chapter Six

Here it is! Chapter Six! Share and enjoy! ~Lady Une-chan  
  
Chapter Six  
  
January 9, UC 0080  
  
London, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth  
  
The Noah Residence  
  
Mirai woke up, blinking her eyes. She remember being outside, and now she was inside. In fact, she realized that she was in Bright's bedroom and someone was holding on to her left hand. She was still kind of sleeply, but she forced her eyes to stay open.  
  
"Bright?"  
  
"Yes, Mirai?"  
  
Mirai was fully awake now and saw that Bright was sitting by the left side of the bed, holding on to her hand, and Sayla was sitting on the other side, reading a book  
  
Wait a minute... How did Sayla get here? Many questions formed in Mirai's head, and she was unsure what question to ask first.  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
Bright looked over at the clock. "One o'clock."  
  
"P.M.?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"So, how long was I out for?"  
  
"Seventeen hours."  
  
Mirai gingerly touched her injuried side. She didn't feel any pain. In fact, she felt rather numb. "Why is Sayla here?"  
  
"She fell out of the tree," said Bright with a chuckle.  
  
Sayla looked over the top of her book. "Let me tell you the story." She closed the book and set it on the night stand. Mirai noticed that there were three medicine bottles labeled with her name on them. She gulped. She didn't like taking pills.  
  
"Well, I was in London for a medical seminar. The seminar finished two days ago and I decided to do a little site-seeing yesterday, and saw you two go into that restaurant. I didn't want to follow you, but I realized that someone was following you! I ended up following him here. He stayed outisde, hiding in the shadows. I didn't want him to see me, so I carefully climbed up one of the trees. Unfortunately, I kind of got stuck in the tree, but eventually I fell out. And now I'm here."  
  
"But why am I still here? Why am I not in a hospital?" Mirai looked at Bright. "You told me that you were going to call the paramedics."  
  
"I did. And then Sayla told me to take you inside, so I took you to my bedroom. The paramedics came and fixed you up and then left. They're leaving you in Sayla and my care. Apparently, there was a train accident last night and a lot of people were injuried, and the hospital is full of patients. The paramedics were glad that Sayla was a medical student and that she was able to help you," said Bright, stroking her fingers.  
  
Mirai nodded. That made sense. "What about the guy?"  
  
"The police identified him as a man that belonged in an insane asylum. He had a fetish for Asian women, and he was practically obsessed with you."  
  
"How would he know who I am?"  
  
"Well, you remember when we posed for that picture after we won the war? The one that the press and media used over and over? The man had many copies it in his bedroom. He apparently trying to kill me so he could have you. When he shot you, he thought that he had killed you, and he killed himself."  
  
Mirai sighed.  
  
Sayla got up out of her seat. "I'm going downstairs. I'm going to go find something to eat." And with that, Sayla left the room, shuting the door behind her.  
  
"So," started Bright, "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Numb," answered Mirai, letting go of Bright's hand so she could push herself into a sitting position.  
  
"That's because of the anesthetic, not to mention Sayla already gave you a dose of painkillers," said Bright, moving the pillow so Mirai could lean back.  
  
Mirai started to fiddle with one of the buttons on the pajamas she was wearing. She suddenly realized that she wasn't wear her pajamas; these pajamas were a blue shirt and pants set, which must mean that they were Bright's.  
  
"Explain to me why I am wearing your pajamas," said Mirai, still fiddling with the button.  
  
"I didn't want to go through your stuff to find yours," said Bright.  
  
"But what about you? What did you sleep in last night?" asked Mirai. But as soon as she asked it, she knew it was a stupid question. Bright was still wearing the clothes he was yesterday. In fact, the were stained with blood. Her blood. Bright didn't go to sleep last night. He stayed up, worrying about her.  
  
"You don't have to answer that," said Mirai sofly, returning her hand in his.  
  
"If you want, I can bring in your suitcase and you can get your pajamas and change. I have other pairs, you know."  
  
"No, no. It's okay. I'll just keep wearing yours, if that's fine with you."  
  
"Of course it is," said Bright, reaching out with his other hand to stroke her hair.  
  
"What I said last night, I truly meant. I wanted to tell you earlier, but I wasn't sure when to."  
  
Bright nodded. "I'm sorry the way it happened, but I'm glad that it finally did."  
  
"I'm glad too. But what do we do now?"  
  
"Let's not worry about that. Right now, the most imporant thing getting you healed."  
  
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.  
  
"Come in, Sayla," called Bright.  
  
Sayla come in with a glass of water and handed it to Mirai. "I think you should go take a shower and change, Bright. I want to have a girl talk with Mirai."  
  
Bright nodded, getting the message. He got up and grabbed some clothes from the closet and went into adjacent bathroom and grabbed something from there too. "Bye, Mirai," he said, kissing the top of her head, and left the room.  
  
"Let me guess; it's pill-taking time," said Mirai, sarcastically.  
  
"You guessed it," said Sayla as she opened one of the medicine bottles.  
  
"So, what's this pill for?"  
  
"It's an antibiotic," said Sayla, handing Mirai a white pill.  
  
Mirai nodded and swallowed the medicine.  
  
"He stayed by your side all night," said Sayla, obviously refering to Bright as she screwed the lid back on the vial.  
  
"I assumed so."  
  
"He truly loves you, Mirai."  
  
Mirai traced her finger along the sheets.  
  
"In fact, he's loved you for a long time. Ever since we visited to Side Six, and Cameron came back into your life, he reailzed that he might lose you to another man. He realized that he was jealous; he realized that he was in love with you. He told me this morning all these things, but I already knew. I saw the way he looked at you back then, Mirai. The way he still looks at you. He really truly loves you."  
  
Mirai looked out the window.  
  
"Mirai, are you listening to me?" demanded Sayla.  
  
"Yes, I'm listening,"said Mirai, turning back to face Sayla, "I just was hoping he'd say that to me, not you."  
  
Sayla sighed. "I'm sure he will. You are very lucky, Mirai."  
  
"I thought you had no interest in men, Sayla."  
  
Sayla just chukled a little.  
  
Suddenly, the door opened and Bright entered the room. "Are we done with our little girl talk?" he asked.  
  
"Yes," said Sayla, almost sarcastically.  
  
Mirai patted the bed next to her, wanting him to sit there, rather than in the chair beside the bed. Bright followed that notion and sat down beside her.  
  
"I going downstairs to make Mirai some toast. Do you want something to eat, Bright?" asked Sayla, "You haven't had anything to eat since dinner last night."  
  
"I'm sure you've noticed that I have in the kitchen is stuff to make sandwiches," said Bright.  
  
"I'm taking that as a yes," and with that Sayla left the room.  
  
Mirai leaned her head against Bright's shoulder.  
  
"We're getting affectionate all of sudden," said Bright, teasingly.  
  
He waited for a reply, but none came. Mirai had fallen asleep.  
  
Just a short author's note: More than likely, Mirai would still be able to admitted the the hospital, despite the train accident. But if she was in the hospital, Bright and Sayla would only be able to visit her during visitor's hours which would defeat the purpose of this chapter.  
  
So I know that the fetish guy was kind of lame and cheesy, but I don't care. One of my friends says it's ironic because Mirai doesn't look at all Asian, but I don't care.  
  
Anyway, stay tuned for Chapter Seven!  
  
~Lady Une-chan 


	7. Chapter Seven

Here's Chapter Seven! Please enjoy it! There might be slight Cameron bashing, if one could call it that. My brother [Mr. Raberba 04] came up with the joke, and I just incorporated into my fic. I don't hate Cameron, I just have a strong disliking towards him, and I am trying to be nice.  
  
~Lady Une-chan  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
January 10, UC 0080  
  
London, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth  
  
The Noah Residence  
  
Mirai awoke suddenly from some awful dream that she couldn't remember. Unfortunately, that startled Bright, who had also dozed off.  
  
"Sorry," said Mirai, rubbing her eyes.  
  
"It's okay," replied Bright, turning to look at the clock. "Whoa, it's eight o'clock A.M.!"  
  
It was at this time that Sayla entered the room. "Good morning," she called.  
  
"I'm hungry," Mirai told her.  
  
"Oh, yeah, I ate your toast as a snack because when I came back you two were snoozing. I can go make you some more, and I assume that your hungry too, Bright, so I make you some as well," said Sayla, and she left the room.  
  
"Bright, could you bring me my suitcase in here?" asked Mirai, "I want to brush my hair and brush is in there."  
  
"Sure," said Bright, easing off the bed. "I'll be back." He exited the room for a brief moment and quickly returned with her suitcase.  
  
"Thanks," said Mirai, taking it and setting it on the bed beside her.  
  
Bright yawned.  
  
"You're still sleeply?" Mirai teased as she opened up the suitcase, and took out her brush. "Hey, I forgot I brought this!" she exclaimed, pulling out a book from the suitcase.  
  
"What's that?" asked Bright.  
  
Mirai handed him the book and started to brush her hair.  
  
Bright opened it. "Oh, it's a photo album!"  
  
"Hai," answered Mirai, still brushing her hair.  
  
Bright arched his brow. "Is that Japanese for 'yes'?"  
  
"Sorry. I haven't actually spoken Japanese for in a long time. I can't believe I just randomly started to speak it again. Yeah, 'hai' means 'yes'." Mirai sat her hairbrush down, and motioned for Bright to sit back down next to her.  
  
"It's okay. Sometimes I find myself speaking with a British accent, which I lost a long time ago." Bright moved the suitcase so he could sit next to her.  
  
Sayla re-entered the room, carrying two plates of toast and a glass of water. "I didn't know what you wanted to drink, Bright, which would have to be milk or water, because that is all you have in this house!"  
  
Bright smirked, and took the plates Sayla handed him.  
  
"How are you feeling?" Sayla asked Mirai, handing her the glass of water.  
  
"A little sore."  
  
"Understandable," said Sayla, picking up one of the medicine bottles off of the nightstand, "You were asleep when you were suppposed to take your painkiller." She opened the bottle and handed a little white pill to Mirai. This pill was way smaller than the antibiotic.  
  
Mirai swallowed the pill and shrugged. "Sorry."  
  
"The amnesia hadn't probably worn off by then, so it's not your fault," said Sayla, putting the lid back on the bottle and setting it back on the nightstand.  
  
Bright handed one of the plates of toast to Mirai. "Could you get me a glass of milk please, Sayla?"  
  
"Whatever you say Mr. Bright," said Sayla, sarcastically and rolling her eyes.  
  
"Hey! I said please!"  
  
"That reminds," started Sayla, "You definitely need to go the supermarket or whatever you call here in Britain."  
  
"The grocery," said Bright.  
  
"Yeah. Anyway, I could go there and buy us some food, because there is none in this house," said Sayla, mockingly.  
  
"I didn't know that I was going to be feeding extra people," said Bright in his defense.  
  
"Anyway, Bright! I will go buy us some food. However, I am in need of a car."  
  
Bright fished his car keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Sayla. "Be careful; remember we drive on the left side of the road in Britain."  
  
Sayla nodded and left the room.  
  
"Does she know where to go?" asked Mirai, puzzled.  
  
"She's part Newtype; I bet she does."  
  
Mirai shrugged, and pointed at the photo album. "There's me when I was a baby."  
  
Bright looked down at the picture. "Ahhh. You were so cute."  
  
Mirai kind of giggled and turned the next pages, all filled with "Baby Mirai." Then the baby grew up a bit in the next couple pages, and a professionally taken photo showed a portrait of the Yashima family. It was kind of eerie looking at this photograph, just like it's eerie to look at the family portrait of the Romanovs of Russia. A tall General Yashima, in his Earth Federation army uniform, was standing behind his seated wife. Standing beside the chair was a six-year-old Mirai. They were all-smiles. Mirai and her mother was wearing matching yellow dresses. Little Mirai looked just a younger version of the way she was now. In fact, Mirai had grown up to look just like her mother, despite the fact that her mother had a 1950s style hair-do.  
  
Bright heard Mirai snuffle. He put his arm around her shoulder. Mirai turned the page to show her and her mother wearing traditional Japanese kimonos. The picture was also a studio portait. They were both wearing matching pink kimonos, the same color of Mirai's military uniform. The long, flowing gowns were embroidered in gold, depicting cherry blossoms and other flowers.  
  
"I miss my family, too," said Mirai.  
  
"I'm sorry," said Bright. "I'm sorry I snapped at you for going into Elizabeth's room."  
  
"Was that your sister's name?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Mirai turned the page.  
  
"And what's this picture of?" asked Bright, pointing a photo of young Mirai dressed as a fairy, but she had a jacket on, so all you can see is her wings. Standing next to her was Cameron, dressed as a... flower. Cameron was completely dressed in green with a flower on his head.  
  
"Well, it's a long story..."  
  
"Let's hear it. I want to know why Cameron is dressed like a flower."  
  
"Well, about ten years ago, when I was eight, our school put on a play. The drama teacher was a little nuts, and the play was really about nothing, and the cast was a flower, a couple fairies, and a devil. She decided to make a pun of Cameron's name, so she made him the flower."  
  
"And how is this a pun of Cameron's name?" asked Bright.  
  
Mirai rolled eyes and said, imitating the drama teacher, "Bloom, Cameron, bloom!"  
  
Bright started to laugh uncontrollably.  
  
"No, no, no! That's not it! I was the chief fairy, and the devil was supposed kill me! But we only practiced my 'death' once, because the teacher wanted it to be impromptu. So we're performing the play for the parents, and I have no clue when this devil thing is going to 'kill' me. About five minutes into the play, the devil comes down and pokes me with a plastic pitchfork. Unfortunately, that made me laugh, and the teacher said 'Die, Mirai, die!' So, I fell down, but I was still laughing, and the devil told me to shut up."  
  
Bright continued to laugh, but Mirai smacked him on the shoulder, telling him to knock it off.  
  
"Anyway, after I 'died,' Cameron was supposed spin around and dance. The teacher called, 'Bloom, Cameron, bloom!' Well, Cameron, 'bloomed' alright. He pushed a button, which caused the petal on his head to expand. Cameron had steped to close the devil, so when he 'bloomed,' he hit the devil in the head, and knocked him off the stage. Cameron, 'Die, devil, die!' Of course, I was still laughing the entire time!"  
  
"Do you have this on tape?" asked Bright.  
  
"Unfortunately, no. Too bad, ne? Anyway, after the play, we went backstage to change back into normal clothes. However, I had arrrived in my costume and a jacket, so I was stuck being a fairy. Then Cameron's parents came up and snaped a picture of us. After that, his mom took me aside and told me that my behavior during the play was unacceptable. I told her that the play was very impromptu, and that my laughing was very impromptu too. And with that I marched out of the building."  
  
"I was just wondering, but what did your costume look like?"  
  
Mirai's eyes narrowed. "Why?"  
  
"Well, was it a toga?"  
  
"Bright!" Mirai smacked him on the shoulder again. "I was only eight! God! Get your mind out of the gutter!"  
  
Bright rubbed his shoulder. "Sorry."  
  
Mirai laughed and turned the next page to a picture of her and serveral other girls dressed in kimonos. They appeared to be at a Japanese festival of sorts.  
  
"Who are these people?" asked Bright, still rubbing his shoulder.  
  
"These are my cousins Naoko, Megumi, Megami, and Nikoru. When I was nine, a came back to Japan for a short visit with my uncle's family. We're at the aunnal Cherry Blossom Festival. That was the last time I went to Earth before the war."  
  
The telephone suddenly rang.  
  
"Hello?" asked Bright as he anwered the phone.  
  
"Where are the cookies?" asked a voice on the other end.  
  
"Cookies? Is this Sayla?"  
  
"Yes, this is Sayla, and I can't find the cookies!"  
  
"They're called 'biscuits' in Britain! God, Sayla. And they in tins, okay. Look tins labeled 'biscuits'," instructed Bright.  
  
"Okay! 'Bye."  
  
Bright hanged up the phone. "That was random."  
  
"Everything is random," said Mirai, flipping through the pages of the photo album.  
  
"Hey, I haven't looked at those pages yet!"  
  
"You don't want to see them," warned Mirai, cluthing the book to her chest.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because."  
  
"Okay, fine then. I'll won't look at them."  
  
Mirai smiled and opened the book to a page that showed a picture of the White Base crew.  
  
"Ta, da! Here we are!" said Mirai.  
  
"Didn't Kai take that picture?" asked Bright, as quickly turned the page back.  
  
"Hey! You said you weren't going to look at them!" Mirai pouted.  
  
"It's just your prom picture," said Bright not understanding we Mirai didn't want him to see it.  
  
"But Cameron was my date!"  
  
"So?"  
  
Mirai snatched the book back. "No more photo album for you!" She put the book back in her suitcase.  
  
"I'll be right back," Bright said and he left the room. Mirai realized that she forgot to eat. Picking up a piece of toast, Mirai examined it. It was a little browner than she liked it, but decided to eat it anyway.  
  
"Here we go," said Bright, entering the room once more. He handed a book to Mirai.  
  
"What's this?"  
  
"My mum made a scrapbook for my nineth birthday," said Bright reclaiming his seat.  
  
"Ha! You said 'mum'!"  
  
"Just because I don't have a British accent doesn't mean that I don't use British terms. I do use some American terms, like I say the 'trunk of the car' and and most Brits say the 'boot of the car', etc."  
  
Mirai opened the book. "Oh, look, it's chibi Bright!"  
  
Bright gave her a quizzical look. "Chibi?" he repeated.  
  
"In Japan, that's the term for 'small' or 'little'," said Mirai turning the pages.  
  
"Okay," said Bright.  
  
"But you just call anyone 'chibi'. People take it as an insult if you call them that and you are a stranger to them. In fact, you can only people 'chibi' if you are close to them."  
  
Bright still looked a bit confused.  
  
"Close as in friends, Bright. Not phyiscal distance. Anyway, I just was refering to how little you are in the pictures." Mirai sighed and shook her head.  
  
Then they could here a car pulling up in the driveway. "Well, Sayla's home," said Bright, getting up from the bed. "I'll go help her unpack the groceries."  
  
"Okay,' said Mirai, intent of just looking at the pictures. Bright left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.  
  
Most of the pictures in the book were on Bright when he was about two or three. Apparently, one of his parents most of had a lot of free time then to take all the photographs. Eventually he got older and his little sister was in the background in a lot of pictures. Elizabeth Noah also had black curly hair and often sported a pink ribbon in it to match all of the pink dresses she wore. Finally, Mirai came across a picture on of the Noah family sitting in front of a fireplace that Mirai reconized as the one downstairs. Bright's father looked like an older version of the Bright that Mirai knew. He had the same black hair and square jaw. Bright's mother had light brown, shoulder length hair, and was very beautiful. Elizabeth was wearing a pink dress and was seated by eight year old, Bright. That was the last photograph in the scrapbook.  
  
Mirai quickly turned back to the front of the book. Sure enough, it said, 'To Bright on his nineth birthday, Love Mum, Dad, and Elizabeth.'"  
  
The door opened and Bright entered. 'Well, Sayla has decided to make a real breakfast!"  
  
Mirai handed him his scrapbook. "I'm sorry."  
  
"It's not your fault, Mirai."  
  
Mirai adverted her eyes in order to avoid eye contact.  
  
Bright sat back on the bed and began to play with Mirai's hair. "You know, I've never seen your hair up."  
  
"I don't really have enough hair for a ponytail," said Mirai, handing him her hairbrush.  
  
"Yes, you do," said Bright, brushing back into a ponytail and then holding it in place. "See?" he said pointing to the mirror on the wall.  
  
"I guess so."  
  
Bright let go her hair and handed her back her brush. "I think I like it down better, though."  
  
"As do I," said Mirai, brushing her back into place.  
  
The door opened again, only this time it was Sayla, holding a platter of food.  
  
"Ta da! A better breakfast then just toast!" Sayla sat the platter on thr bed.  
  
Bright and Mirai looked over at the food. Included was a German sausage, a Belgian waffle, an English muffin, a piece of French toast, and a small pitcher of syrup, from Vermont, Amercia, respectfully. The food was set up in the same configuration of the real world.  
  
"Look," said Sayla, stabbing the sausage link with a fork, "The German sausage invaded the Belgian waffle." Sayla prodded the waffle with the sausage, "accoring to the Schifflen Plan, which, of course, involved the Germans invading Belgium in order to attack France." Sayla pointed to the French toast. "Well, the English muffin steps in to help the Belgian waffle, because Belgium was neutral, due to the Congress of Vienna."  
  
"I'll have you know that the English muffin is certainly not English. We eat scones--" started Bright, but Sayle interrupted.  
  
"Anyway, the French toast attacks the German sausage--" Sayla slid the sausage off the fork and placed it next to the toast-- "and then the German sausage sunk the ship the Lustania, so the Americans join in." Sayla picked up the pitcher of syrup and poured it over over the food. "And there we have World War I."  
  
Bright and Mirai stared blankly at Sayla, sweatdropping.  
  
"Wait until lunch! I've got sushi to do World War II!" and with that, Sayla left the room.  
  
"Hey!" Bright called after her, "Whatever happened to my milk!"  
  
Mirai shook her head. "I think Sayla left her common sense somewhere."  
  
Bright laughed and put his arm around Mirai's shoulder. Mirai lended her head on his shoulder.  
  
"This time don't fall asleep," said Bright, teasingly.  
  
"I promise I won't." Mirai was quite content just to sit there for all eternity, but deep down, she knew that something was going to happen. Something-- no, someone-- was coming here. Someone from her past... Cameron.  
  
Owari-- for now! And yes, Cameron is coming into my fic, and I promise to be nice to him, okay, and there will be no further Cameron-bashing, not even another slight joke.  
  
So stay tuned for Chapter Eight of "In Love and War"!  
  
~Lady Une-chan 


	8. Chapter Eight

Ta da!! Here is Chapter Eight!! Yes, Cameron is in this chapter, and I'm very nice to him.  There is no bashing, okay?

~Lady Une-chan****

**Chapter Eight**

January 10, UC 0080

London, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth

The Noah Residence

            Sayla burst open the door, holding a glass of milk. "I hate to end snuggle time, but Mirai needs to take a shower."  She thrust the milk at Bright, and shooed him out of the bedroom.

            "God, you're demanding," said Mirai.

            "Up!" commanded Sayla.  Mirai slowly got out of bed, her legs stiff because she had been sitting there for more than twenty four hours.

            "Grab your stuff," said Sayla, going into the adjacent bathroom. Mirai grabbed her suitcase and followed Sayla.

            "Yor're not going to--" started Mirai.

            "I'm just  going to take off your bandage and then I'm leaving," interrupted Sayla.

            Mirai nodded and let Sayla poke and prod her.

            "Here we go,"said Sayla, "Bye." She left the room, went through the bedroom, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, where she found Bright staring at the food in the refrigerator.

            "You bought enough food to last us a lifetime."

            "So," said Sayla, sitting down at the kitchen table.

            "We are never going to be able to eat all this before it all goes bad," Bright said, picking up a carton of milk and examining it.  "See, look; an expiration date."

            "Yeah, yeah, whatever," said Sayla, drumming her fingers on the table.

            "How much money did you spend?" asked Bright, returning the carton to its space.

            "Oh, I don't know, about 250 pounds."

            "What! £250! I've never--"

            "You never spend that much because you only buy for yourself, and that means only buying bread!" Sayla snapped back.

            "Well, I don't think that three people will be able to eat all of this!"

            "Well, that's because--" Sayla started, but she stopped herself.

            "Oh no, don't tell me that more people are coming." Bright slammed the  refrigerator door shut.

            "Today is a nice day.  The sun is shining," said Sayla, looking out the window.

            "Sayla! Do not change the subject!"

            She faced Bright and stuck her tongue out. "No, I'm not going to tell you that more people are coming.  You'll just have to figure that for yourself."

            Bright gave her a look of disgust and then returned his gaze to the now closed fridge. "I do not understand how come it can close all the way with so much food in it."

            Sayla pushed the chair away from the table and stood up.  "How come we never get long?"

            "If I remember correctly, when you first joined _White Base,  you made fun of me because I am part of the Earth Elite."_

            Sayla smirked.

            "See! You get on my nerves." Bright watched Sayla start to pace back and forth in front of the window. "Not to mention  that I am stereotypically British and you are stereotypically French."

            Sayla continued to pace and seemed to be lost in thought.

            "There you go again, not listening to me! You know, when we first met, I was trying to be nice to you, but no! You had to go and--" Bright cut himself off.  Sayla had stopped in front of the window and was staring at something. "Oh, don't tell that me next visitor will be Amuro crashing through the window."

            "No, no, no. It isn't going to be Amuro, and the window doesn't have anything to do with it."

            "Then stop pacing in front of the Goddamned window!"

            "Wow, Bright, I never knew you cussed," said a new voice.  Mirai had entered the kitchen, wearing a white blouse and black slacks.

            "It didn't take you very long to shower and dry your hair," stated Sayla.

            "I don't normally curse, but stupid Sayla here is being so annoying!"

            Sayla pouted.  "I was not!"

            "Were too!"

            Mirai rolled her eyes. "Stop acting like children."

            Bright stopped immediately, embarrssed, while Sayla suck out her tongue again.

            Mirai looked frustrated.  "You'd think that you were Kikka, Lets, and Kats."

            "She," said Bright, pointing his finger at Sayla, "decided to buy the whole grocery store."

            "I didn't buy the whole store!"

            "There you go again!"

            "Hey, guys! Stop it! I am sick of your bickering! For once in your lifetime, can't you two get along?" Mirai had had enough.

            Bright was astonished.  Mirai never got mad.  This must had been the first time in history he had ever seen her mad. Bright was always the one who had tempered outbursts. He started to say he was sorry, but Mirai cut him off.

            "Now both of you sit down at the table.  It's lunchtime."

            Bright and Sayla did as they were told and sat down at the table, while Mirai opened the refrigerator.  They heard her muttered something in Japanese, under her breath, that sounded like, "_Watashi no Kami-sama."  Bright had picked up this phrase after hearding Mirai say it often.  Knowing the meaning, he gave a sly smile to Sayla, who in turn, frowned, confused.  Suddenly, she realized what it meant, and gave Bright a mean look. "__Watashi no Kami-sama" meant, "Oh my God!"_

            "You even bought Japanese food!" exclaimed Mirai, pulling a box out of the fridge.

            "I knew that you liked to cook, and I thought that you'd like to make Japanese food.  I even bought us some chopsticks." Sayla smiled sweetly, making Bright even more disgusted at her.

            "Now, 'getting along with each other' doesn't mean just sitting there giving each other dirty looks," said Mirai as she got out cooking supplies.

            "Then what are we supposed to do?" asked Bright.

            "Talk about something," answered Mirai, going back to the fridge to get food.

            "Like about?" asked Sayla.

            "Anything. I don't care, just try to act normal."

            "Okay," said Sayla, "Well, the weather is nice today."

            Bright nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

            "It's sunny today."

            "Yeah."

            Mirai tried not to laugh, but their conversation was SO STUPID! At least they were talking and not arguing.

            "The weather is actually pretty unusual for this time of year.  It normally is raining in January," said Bright, completely bored with this conversation.

            Sayla nodded her head, and stared out the window, again.

            "What is it about the window that intrigues you, Sayla?" asked Bright, this time trying to be polite.

            "I really don't know."

            Mirai turned around and placed three bowls on the table. Bright peered into one.  Inside was thick noodles.

            "What exactly is this called?" he asked.

            "_Udon," Mirai answered as she searched for the chopsticks. "Where are--"_

            "In the sliverware drawer," Sayla interrupted, knowing the question before it was asked.

            "And what does '_udon' mean?" asked Bright as Mirai handed him a pair of rough wooden chopsticks, the kind that you have to throw away._

            "'Wheat noddles'. I least I think that's what it means.  Because soba noodles are buckwheat, so yeah, _udon noddles are wheat noodles," she said, sitting down at the table._

            Bright nodded and they started to eat.

            "So, do you like it?" Mirai asked him curiously.

            "It's very good.  I've never quite had anything thing like it," he answered.

            "Let me teach you some Japanese.  If someone asked you, '_Anata wa udon ga suki desu ka?' which means, 'Do you like __udon?' you would say, '__Hai, udon ga suki desu' or simply '__Hai, suki desu."_

            Bright gave her a confused look.

            "Fine, don't try to learn my native language," said Mirai, sarcastically.

            Bright was about to say that she didn't learn English just for him, and that he didn't understand why he needed to know Japanese. But Sayla gave him a look that told him that was a bad thing to say, and that he needed to try to speak it.

            "I need you to repeat it."

            "Okay, you say '_Hai, suki desu' when I say '__Anata wa udon ga suki desu ka?' Got it?"_

            Bright tried to translate the sentence into English.  He knew that "_hai" was yes. So if the question was "Do you like __udon?" then he was going to say "Yes, I like it."_

            "_Anata wa udon suki ga desu ka?"_

            "_Hai...suki desu."_

            Mirai smiled. "See, I knew you could do it!"

            Bright blushed.

            "But I noticed one thing. You speak Japanese with a British accent!"

            "My Spanish teacher always said that I spoke Spanish with accent," said Bright.

            "Was your Spanish teacher actually British?" asked Sayla, "Because if he was, you would have spoken Spanish the way he did-- with a British accent."

            "No, my Spanish teacher American."

            "_¿Tú hablas español?" Mirai asked Bright, in Spanish._

            "_Sí, yo hablo español," Bright answered, telling her that, yes, he spoke Spanish "__¿Comó estás?" Bright asked how she was._

            "_Yo estoy bien." Mirai said she was "good"._

            "_¿Bien? ¿No muy bien?"_

            "_Pues, ¡yo estoy muy bien!"_

            "_Je suis bien, et toi?" Sayla added, in French._

            "_Je [something Bright didn't understand]__ françois!" Mirai snapped._

            "_Ich bin--" Bright started in German, but decided this was getting a little out of hand. "I think we should switch back into English."_

            Mirai and Sayla nodded in argeement. Mirai cleared the table and placed the dishes in the sink to wash.

            "Oh no, Mirai, I'll do the dishes!" exclaimed Sayla suddenly, "How about you and Bright go outside for a walk?"

            Mirai was a little wary about going outside after her last incident, but Bright took her hand and lead her outside, through the front door.

            "Let's just walk around the neighborhood," said Bright.  He knew what Sayla was doing: She was playing matchmaker. But Bright didn't care, because it was an excuse to be alone with Mirai.

            They walked hand-in-hand, but in silence.   They walked down the street and then back to the house.

            Mirai let go of Bright's hand and sat down on the bench in his front yard. Bright sat down beside her.

            "I don't want to go back to Side Six."

            "Then don't go back. It's your choice."

            "I want to stay here. With you."

            They leaned in, as if to kiss, but Mirai suddenly pulled away and looked up.

            "Someone is coming," she informed Bright.

            Taking the informantion Sayla had given him earlier and what Mirai just told him, Bright assumed that this might be one of their visitors.

            "_Chikusho!" Mirai cursed under her breath, as a black car pulled into the driveway. The car stopped, and as Bright walked over to it, and man with brown hair, a long nose, and wearing a business suit and pointdexter glasses._

            "Cameron Bloom? Why are you here?" Bright asked.  This was the man that Bright detested.  Not that was anything wrong with Cameron.  Sure, he wasn't good looking, but he very smart and polite. But Cameron had done something subconsciously that cut Bright real deep.

            "Why, hello, Lieutenant Noah!" exclaimed Cameron.

            Bright struggled to be just as polite as his enemy. "Why do I have the pleasure of your presence?"

            "I heard that Mirai was visiting you. I've come to escort her back to Side 6. " Cameron looked over Bright's shoulder, trying to see Mirai, who was hiding behind the Brit.

            "Hi, Mirai," Cameron called.

            Mirai stepped out from behind Bright. "Hello, Cameron," she said coolly.

            Cameron hugged Mirai, his hand brushing her injured side, causing Mirai to flinch with pain. Bright knew that not only was Mirai in phyiscal pain, but she was also very uncomfortable having her ex-fiancè hug her.

            "Why don't we go inside," said Bright. Cameron released Mirai, and they went indoors.

            After they entered the house and went into the living room, Bright decided to be a stereotypic host and offered Cameron something to drink.

            "Oh, no thank.  Actually, I'd like to talk with you in private, Lieutenant Noah," said Cameron.

            Bright knew that their conversation was going to have something to do with Mirai, who was sitting on the couch and looking sad.

            "Let's go upstairs to my study," replied Bright, "We'll be back, Mirai."

            Mirai nodded and watched the two men climb up the stairs, as Sayla climbed down.

            "Why hello, Mr. Bloom," Sayla said, totally not surprised.

            "Good afternoon, Ensign Mass," Cameron greeted her.

            Bright lead Cameron to one of the guest rooms that he used as a study and library. He shut the door behind him.

            "Please sit down," said Bright, gesturing to one of the chairs by the small table, near the giant bookshelf that lined the walls. Bright sat down in his desk chair.

            "I want to take Mirai back home with me," said Cameron bluntly, after sitting down in the designated chair.

            "Then ask her if she wants to go with you," Bright said calmly.

            "I already know the answer to that."

            "Cameron, there is something about love that you don't quite understand.  If the person you love does not return the same feelings for you, then you must respect that.  You have to let her go."

            Cameron sighed.

            "Go ask her."

            "You have quite the harem," said Cameron, changing the subject.

            "What do you mean?" asked Bright, confused.

            "Not only is Mirai here, but so is Sayla Mass!"

            "Sayla is only staying here because she is friends with Mirai.  Sayla and I definitely do not get along. Now, go ask Mirai if she wants to back to Side Six with you."

            "Is something wrong with Mirai?"

            "What?" asked Bright, even though he knew what. He knew that Mirai wouldn't want him to tell Cameron what happened.

            "Was she injured?"

            "There was an accident," said Bright slowly, "If Mirai wants to talk about she will.  Now, go downstairs and talk with her."

            "You love her, don't you?"

            "Yes, I do.  And if Mirai wants to go with you, I would sent her my best wishes."

            Cameron nodded. "She loves you, not me. There is no need to ask her."

            "And how you do know that?"

            "It's obvious."

            "I still think that you need to talk with Mirai."

            "Fine, I will." And with that, Cameron exited the study and went downstairs.

            Mirai and Sayla had been channel surfing on the "telly." When Cameron entered the living room, Sayla took a hint, turned off the TV and when upstairs. As she reached the second story landing, she heard Cameron saying, "We need to talk." Sayla decided to go pester Bright, and headed for the study. She was about to barge in, but she choose to be polite for once in her life, and knocked on the door.

            "Come in," Bright called.

            "So?" asked Sayla.

            "I came this close--" said Bright, using his fingers to show about half an inch, --"this close, to kissing Mirai!"

            "And what stopped you?"

            "That damn Cameron!"

            "If Mirai could hear your foul mouth," said Sayla, rolling her eyes.

            "She pulled away because her Newtype abilities allowed her to know that he ex-fiancè was going to show up in about five seconds!"

            "So, what did he want?"

            "Oh, you know.  He wants to take Mirai back to Side Six with him!"

            "And we know how she feels about that."

            "He knows that I love her, and he says that it's obvious that she loves me!"

            "Well, Bright, it is obvious."

            "You were the one spying on us in the tree!"

            "I was there to save you guys from a psychopath!"

            As Bright and Sayla started aruging, as they always did, Mirai and Cameron were sitting in the living room.

            "What do you want to talk about?" asked Mirai, even though she knew what.

            Cameron drew in his breath. "Do you want to come back to Side Six with me?"

            "I'm sorry, Cameron, but--"

            "It's okay, Mirai.  I already know," Cameron interrupted.

            "I'm very sorry Cameron.  I thought that we had gone our separate ways.  I thought that we called off the engagement."

            "We did.  I'm sorry that I came to bother you."

            Mirai couldn't look Cameron in the eyes, so she looked at her feet.

            "Bright told me that there was some sort of accident.  Were you injured?"

            Mirai sighed. "Yes, I was hurt."

            "Are you okay?" asked Cameron, truly concerned.

            "I'm fine now."

            "Are you sure?"

            "Yes, I'm sure, Cameron, but it's nice to see you care."

            "What happened?" Cameron asked, although he didn't Mirai would want to tell him.

            "I really don't want to talk about it." Mirai looked up.

            Cameron remember what Bright had told him and decided to not to push it. Instead, he stood up. "Tell Bright good-bye for me.  You two make a cute couple." He headed for the door.

            Mirai scrambled up and followed him. "What? How do you know--"

            "I know you two are in love, Mirai," Cameron stated, cutting her off.

            "And you are okay with that?"

            "Bright told me that if the person I loved didn't return the same feelings, I need to let them go.  I'm letting you go, Mirai." He had his hand on the doorhandle.

            "Thank you, Cameron, for understanding."

            "I want to be invited to your wedding.  I hope you feel better soon, Mirai.  See you later!" Cameron opened the door and went outside, closing the door behind him as Mirai called, "Good-bye!"

            Bright and Sayla came down the stairs, aguring about something. Suddenly, Bright stopped.  "Where's Cameron?"

            "He left," Mirai said flaty.

            "He didn't even eat anything!" said Bright, directed to Sayla.

            "Fine, I'll go have a snack to make up for it," said Sayla sarcastically, and she went the kitchen.

            Bright went over to Mirai and put his arm around her. "What happened?"

            "He knew that I loved you."

            "I know, he told me, too."

            And for the first time since she and Cameron broke up, Mirai didn't feel guilty about falling in love with Bright.

That's the end for now!!! Chapter Nine is coming soon!! Please review and no flames!

~Lady Une-chan

PS: Because it is the future, the antibotics that Mirai took cause her to heal way faster than we normally do.


	9. Chapter Nine

[A small author's note: Technically, Bright would probably be a captain at this point, but Cameron didn't know that.  Remember: Because Bright worked on a spaceship (a.k.a. _White Base) he would be a captain in the navy. It's kind of confusing because the translation of __Mobile Suit Gundam uses both army (for the Earth Federation Army and Air Force)  and navy terms (for the Earth Federation Space Force and Principality of Zeon). In Japanese, they use the same terms for both. For example, when Bright is a lieutenant, that means that he is lieutenant in the navy and a captain in the army.  In the Japanese verison, that would make him a __taii.  However, he is promoted before __Z Gundam, my guess that he was promoted for his actions during the One Year War. Therefore, he is a captain in the navy, and a colonel in the army, the Japanese term being __taisa. I hope that this makes sense. ~ Lady Une-chan]_

**Chapter Nine**

January 10, UC 0080

London, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth

The Noah Residence

            Dinner was fast approaching. Bright, Mirai, and Sayla had spent the last couple of hours playing various card games and listening to the Beatles. (Sayla had commented that she didn't understand why Bright was obessed with a band from when the world used the AD calendar.  They were SO outdated, like by a couple hundred years.)

            So Mirai decided to go into the kitchen and figure out what she should cook for dinner. While she was going through the refrigerator, the phone rang. Bright walked in from the living room and picked up the handset.

            "Hello?  Yes, this Captain Noah, sir."  There was a pause. "Yes, I understand, sir," said Bright slowly, "Yes, I'll be there tomorrow. Good-bye, sir." And with that, he sat down the phone.

            "Well, that was my headquarters.  They want me to come back to work tomorrow," said Bright, sullenly.

            "Why? All they make you do is write intelligence reports and junk," said Sayla, entering the kitchen.

            "They acutally wanted me to come back from my leave yesterday, but I used one of my sick days today in order to..." Bright faded off, looking at Mirai, knowing that she already knew why. "In order to stay with Mirai," he finally finished.

            "And they knew that, so they want to come back immediately. Did you tell them that she was injured and you were taking care of her?" Sayla asked, as if Mirai was not in the room.

            "They don't care. They just want me back there."

            "You used one of your sick days? I thought that you were still on leave," Mirai sunddenly entered the conversation.

            "Acutally, I used two.  One for the yesterday and one for today."

            "You didn't have to, Bright. I'm sure that Sayla could take care of me, and I fine now," Mirai said, searching for something in the freezer.

            "I don't get sick that often, Mirai, and I'm not planning on overstressing myself again.  I don't think that I'll need those sick days," Bright sat down at the table and gazed at her, "Besides, I think that they worth it."

            Mirai blushed and focused her attention on the food she was staring at. "What do you want for dinner? I was leaning towards raviolis, but we've had pasta for the last couple meals."

            "Whatever you want is fine," said Bright, still gazing at Mirai contently.

            "Sayla, I noticed that you didn't buy much meat," Mirai said to the blonde.

            "If I remember correctly, you once told me that you didn't really like meat, so I didn't buy much, execpt deli meats so Bright can make those famous sandwiches of his." Sayla joined Bright at the table.

            "Hey, don't make fun of my sandwiches. Do you know how to cook? I don't see you helping Mirai," retorted Bright.

            Sayla blushed in embrassment. "Not every women knows how to cook! God, does all men think that's all women are good for? Housework and sex? Eh, Bright? Are women supposed to stay at home and cook and take care of the children?"

            "Whoa, Sayla, I did not say that.  It's just nice that Mirai knows how to cook, because I would burn down the house, and then where would we be? Calm down, Susan B. Anthony!  Women have the right to vote and they are paid the same wages as men, okay?"

            "Well, we didn't always have the right to vote and we weren't always paid the same as men," argued Sayla.

            "So?" said Bright, "You should be grateful that you can vote.  In fact, women have had the right to vote since the before we switched to the UC calendar. My God, Sayla.  Get grip."

            Sayla turned to Mirai, who was busy cooking, "What do you think of this?" she asked her.

            "Well, it's nice that women can vote, but..." Mirai faded off, as she put the raviolis in the boiling water for them to cook.

            "But what?" asked Sayla.

            Mirai blushed again. "You see, when I was little and people asked me what  wanted to be when I grew up, I always said that I wanted to be... well, you know... a bride."

            Sayla crinkled her nose and Bright look perhaps a little uneasy.

            "Come on, Sayla.  Every Japanese girl's dream is to get married and have children.  It's part of the Japanese culture. It's the way that I was raised.  Of course, I was raised to believe that Cameron would someday be my husband... but oh well.  I want to stay home and cook and take care of the children. I've had my adventure, and now I wanted to settle down. Unlike you, Sayla, who doesn't have a residence and runs around the world doing you want, I have plans for the future." Mirai slammed down the pan that she was going to heat the mariana sauce in, making the Brit and the Frenchie jump.

            Sayla and Bright gave each other a strange glace. "So," he said, "What did you want to be when you grew up, Sayla?"

            "A doctor," she anwsered, "And you? A soldier?"

            "Nailed it on the head. I always wanted to be a commander in the army. I guess I got what I wanted," Bright said, with a laugh.

            Sayla nodded. "And of course, one day you will get married and have children, right?"

            Now it was Bright's turn to blush. "Yes," he stammered.

            "I don't mean to change to the subject or anything," started Sayla, "But I am going to France tomorrow, and I'll need one of you to drive me to the airport."

            "You are?" asked Mirai, piling the cooked pasta on the plates.

            "Yes. I would have told you guys earlier but..."

            "But it escaped you mind to tell us," filled in Bright, a little snobbishly.

            Sayla smiled sheepishly.

            "I'll take you to the airport," said Mirai, pouring the mariana sauce on raviolis. "I still have the rental car that Bright and I forgot to take back."

            "We didn't forget, we just didn't have time," added Bright.

            "Anyway, Bright can go to work in his car, and I can take you to the airport. I can also take the car back to the rental place, and then they drive me back home," Mirai told Sayla.  Bright noticed that she refered to his house as "home".

            "Sure, that'll work. Thanks, Mirai," said Sayla.

            "It's the least I can do," said Mirai, setting down the steaming plates of pasta in front of Bright and Sayla, and then sat down at the table with her own plate.

            "Why are you going to go to France?" asked Bright, as the group began their meal.

            "There is another medical seminar that I must attend," answered Sayla, without interest.

            Mirai noticed this lack of interest. "Aren't you exitced about it?" she asked.

            "Not really. I mean, I still would like to be a doctor and all, but I don't know anymore if that's what I want to spend my life doing," Sayla said, wishing that the conversation had not come to this.

            "Oh," was Mirai's reply, and decided to lay off.  Sayla never talked about her past; she never thought about the future.  She always tried to focus on the present, even though her Newtype abilites allowed to figure out what was going to happen next. Mirai, on the other hand, often thought (and worried) about the future. How could she not, with her name being Japanese for "future"?

            They ate the rest of the meal in silence.  Bright sensed some tension between the two women. At least Sayla offered to do the dishes again.

            Wait a minute.  That's means that she's playing matchmaker again.  Why was she pushing so hard to get Mirai and him alone?  She's going to France tomorrow, which means that they would be alone until...

            _Until what? Bright thought. __Mirai doesn't want to go back to Side Six, so she's staying here, but what does that mean?  That she's my roommate? It was then that it hit Bright.  It was so simple, yet complicated..._

            Sayla shooed them out of the kitchen, and Bright headed for the couch, but Mirai grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the staircase.

            "You'd didn't tell me that you had a study, but you and Cameron went up there to talk, so I want to go see it," she said.

            "It's not really a study," said Bright, as they climbed the stairs, "It's really a guest room that my father turned into a library of sorts." As they reached the second landing he directed Mirai to the room across from the guest room that Mirai was supposed to staying in (of course, she was staying in Bright's room, and he was sleeping in the guest room).  He flung open the door. "Ta da!"

            Because the room faced west, the setting sun's light casting an interesting look, turning everything a light shade of orange. Bright let the lady enter first, and then followed, shutting the door quietly behind him.

            Bookshelves lined three walls of the room, all completely filled with all sorts of books. The four wall had the window let let in the sunset's orange glow. A desk was underneath the window, the back of the chair facing the window. Off to the side, by the door, there was a coffee table flanked by two leather easy chairs. Mirai walked over to one of the bookselves and noticed that the books were in alphabetical, by author.

            "Those were my father's books," said Bright, sitting down in one of the easy chairs, "My mum's is on the east wall, and my books are on the south."

            Mirai walked the perimeter of the room, glancing at the titles printed on the spines of the books.  She saw that his mother had owned a lot of Jane Austen novels, and paused to take one off the bookshelf and flipped though the book, then slide _Sense and Sensibility back into it's correct spot._

            "You can borrow that, if you want," said Bright, watching Mirai's every move.

            "Oh, that's okay. I've read that book quite a few times," she replied, walking over to the south wall. She scanned the books that Bright claimed to be his.

            "All of the books on the top two shelves are from my childhood and the rest are books that I've acquired over the years," commented Bright.

            "Hmm... Harry Potter," said Mirai as her eyes crossed over the seven book set, "The Lord of the Rings, too, _ne?"_

            "The classics, of course," shrugged Bright.

            Mirai continued to look at the collection of books. "_The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy series is not in alphabetical order."_

            "I put my books in the order that I get them. It was my parents that put them in alphabetical order," Bright answered. Then he saw an unpleastant look cross Mirai's face, and she began to rub her injured side, as if to soothe away pain. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

            Mirai forced him a smile, "I'm fine."

            "No you're not," Bright said, bluntly.

            "I'm not a very good liar, _ne?" she said as she walked over and sunk into the other easy chair._

            "You haven't been taking the painkillers," he said, still serious.

            "I didn't feel the need to," Mirai replied, still rubbing her side.

            "You're in pain, Mirai.  If you would have just would have taken--"

            "It's not medicine, Bright, it's a type of drug," she argued.

            "A legal prescription drug, which means that you are supposed to take it," Bright snapped back.

            Mirai sighed.  Not only did she not like taking pills, but she knew that painkillers could become addictive.  She didn't think that she'd become addicted to them, but she wasn't taking any chances.  "You know that anti-depressants are legal drugs," said Mirai, quietly.

            "Yes, but what does--" started Bright, cut-off by Mirai.

            "My mother died of an overdose of anti-depressants."

            Bright's eyes widen in surprise. He had always wondered how Mrs. Yashima had passsed away, but he never had thought of this. He had always just assumed that she had died of heartbreak.

            "She had been prescribed them right after my father died. She kept taking more and more pills everyday until one day she..." Mirai broke into tears.

            "Died," Bright finished her sentence he reached over and took her hand in his. "I'm sorry, Mirai."

            Suddenly, the door to the study flew up and Sayla ran in. "Is everyone okay? I heard crying," she exclaimed.

            "It's okay, Sayla," said Bright, and Sayla got the message. 

            "If you need me, I'll be downstairs," said Sayla, as she exited the room.

            Bright returned his attention to the sniffling Mirai, who had managed to stop crying.  "Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked her.

            "A walk would be nice," she answered. Bright helped her out of the chair and the two headed down the stairs.

            "Let's go to the garden," said Bright, taking Mirai to back door that lead to the backyard. "It will be safer there," he added.

            Mirai nodded and walked out into the peaceful garden. A light breeze blew and tousled her hair. The two began to stroll around, hand-in-hand.

            "Thank you, Bright, for understanding and letting me stay with you," said Mirai, after a bit of silence.

            "No need to thank me," repiled Bright.

            Mirai yawned.  "I guess I'm getting sleeply," she said with a giggle.

            "Then let's sit down here," said Bright, as they passed by a bench, "There are some things that we need to talk about."

            Mirai nodded and the two sat down.

            "So," started Bright, "I really don't know how to put this, but how exactly you'd you define our realtionship?"

            Mirai looked up at the sky and realized that the sun had finally set and the stars had come out. "Well, we are definitely more than friends."

            "But does that make us boyfriend and girlfriend? Or what?"

            "We are more than just boyfriend and girlfriend, but I don't think that there is a word to that I'd use to exactly define our relationship," Mirai answered, still staring up at the stars.

            "So, you..." trailed off Bright.

            "So I what?" asked Mirai, turing to face him.

            "So, you return my affections?"

            "Bright, when I said that I loved you, I truly meant it.  I wasn't just saying it to make you feel better.  I pushed you away from the bullet to save your life."

            "And caused yourself great pain," Bright added.  "You didn't have to risk your life for mine."

            "Of course, I did. I love you, Bright," Mirai said bluntly.

            "I would have rather taken the bullet than have you be shot to prove your love," stated Bright.

            "I wasn't trying to prove my love, I just did it because I love you," Mirai told him.

            "Look, Mirai, I've been in love with you since... well, ever since we were in Jaburo and I found out that you and had a fiancé. Then we went to Side Six and Cameron magically appeared. It was at the monment that I realized that I was in love with you and that I was jealous. I didn't want to lose you to another man.  But I didn't know what you thought of me, and I decided to kept my feelings quiet," Bright confessed.

            Mirai stared meaningful into his eyes.  "I knew that you cared about me, the way that you were always there for me. I'm sorry that I couldn't..." she trailed off, and the two leaned in and this time made lip contact. A few moments later, they pulled away, blushing.

            "Sorry if that wasn't a very good kiss," said Bright with a nervious chuckle, "but I've never kissed someone before."

            "It was perfect," Mirai muttered, and they leaned in again, but this time she pulled away suddenly.  "There is something else we need to talk about."

            Bright looked confused. "Okay," he said slowly.

            "You remember that time when you broke the rules by having a private conversation with me during battle, and then you let go on a break," started Mirai, who began to stare at the sky again.

            "Yes," Bright replied, still confused.

            "Well, I never told you what I did during that break."

            "You were gone for all of what? Two minutes?  I assumed that you walked around to calm yourself down and then returned to the helm," said Bright, alarmed.

            "Well, I went and found Slugger and we kissed," confessed Mirai, turning back to look at Bright once more.

            Bright looked at Mirai with surprise. "You what?"

            "Slugger and I kissed," Mirai repeated.

            "Why didn't you tell me eariler?" Bright asked, still shocked.

            "I didn't want to tell you. I'd hurt your feelings."

            "Mirai, you're hurt my feelings by not telling me.  When I asked you a month ago if you were all right, you lied to me. Why didn't you tell me then?"

            "It's just-- well, I knew that you had feelings for me and I thought it would be cruel of me to talk to you about something stupid I did.  I don't even know way I did it. I thought it would be cruel of me to discuss me kissing another man when you were in love me!" A few tears trailed down Mirai's cheeks.

            Bright raised his finger and wiped a tear off her face. "Did you think I would stop loving you?"

            "No, I just didn't what to break your heart on accident."

            Bright suddenly realized that Mirai was right.  Had she told him about it when he asked, his heat would break and he might lose hope of ever being together with her. 

            "I completely understand now, Mirai," he replied, and the couple locked lips again, this time kissing a little more passionately.

            After they broke away, Mirai began to rub her forehead. "I'm sorry, Bright, but I'm starting to get a headache.  I probably should go to bed now."

            A worried expression crossed Bright's face as he helped her off the bench.  "Yeah, perhaps you can sleep this headache off."

            They walked hand-in-hand again, back inside the house and up the stairs to the master bedroom. Mirai promptly lied down on the bed.

            "Hey, at least take off your shoes," said Bright, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

            Mirai kicked off her shoes, and turned over, pressing her forehead into the pillow. "I'm sorry, Bright, but sometimes these headaches sneak up on me."

            "You probably wouldn't have a headache if you would have taken those painkillers," Bright commented. He leaned over and began to massage her head.

            She didn't answer him; she'd fallen asleep. He cracked a half-smile and kissed the top of her head. "Good night, Mirai. I love you..

            Bright went back outside and sat down on the bench again. The wind began to pick up, running through his hair. He assumed that it would probably rain soon.

            "I know what you are going to do tomorrow," said voice. Bright looked up and saw Sayla standing in front of him. Her hair barely seemed bothered by the wind.

            Bright smiled. "Ah.  Behold the power of Newtypes."

            "Because I'm going to be gone before then, so I'm saying 'congratulations' now," Sayla said as she sat on the other side of the bench, "And I would like the chicken."

            "I'll have to remember that."

            "I knew that this would happen," commented Sayla.

            "Duh.  You are part Newtype," Bright replied.

            "It wasn't my Newtype abilities that gave me this vital informantion.  I closely observed you two once you guys met."

            "Because you knew it the end that it would lead to this," said Bright.

            "No, I did not know until this morning."

            "Well, then you knew subconsciously!" he exclaimed.

            "Look, Bright.  It kind of got obvious when you put all of your trust in Mirai and none of the rest of the crew.  It was obvious when she was the only one that you didn't get in a fight with or argue with. And it was obvious that she was falling in love with you when she took care of you when you were sick. And she didn't want to be in charge then; she wanted to be by your side--"

            "She only did it because I asked her to. I asked her to be in charge. She told me that 'a ship without a commander does seem ludicrous, but I'm just not up to the task, Bright.' And then I told her to 'do it for me.' She didn't always understand that she is in charge of her life. And being in charge of more people then herself almost seemed like a new concept to her. Her whole life had been planned for her. Mirai really couldn't make any life changing decisions. But then she told Cameron had she didn't want to get married to him--"

            "Now when you mean being in charge of people you mean--"

            "I mean that one bad move and they all could be killed. It was like she was God and fate was in her hands."

            "She, in fact Bright, able to take care of people. She's taken care of you--"

            "Only because I was ill--"

            "Will you let me finish?" Sayla rolled her eyes. "And she's helped Frau take care of Kikka, Lets, and Kats. She's going to make an excellent mother, if that's what you are worried about."

            Bright blushed. "No, that's not what I am worried about," he stammered. "Hey, does that mean--"

            "Well, I don't know for certain, I would assume so. Both of you said that you wanted children," Sayla cut in.

            "I was just trying to say that Mirai often would just do whatever I said.  If I had told her that I loved her right after Slugger died, she would have clung to he only because I said that I loved her," Bright explained.

            "And you were, and still are, her closest friend."

            "But anway, she wouldn't have really loved me. So I decided to wait, and let her work put her feelings--"

            "And she was able to realize, on her own, that she really loved you," Sayla finished quickly. "And I don't agree with you that Mirai is not able to be in charge of people--"

            "I don't think you understand what I am--"

            "Yes, I do!"

            "No, you don't!"

            "Do to!"

            "Do not!"

            "Do--"

            "Oh, come off it, Sayla. I'm sick of fighting with you.  I should be grateful that you were able to fall out of that tree and help save Mirai's life," said Bright, honestly.

            "Well, thank you for not telling anyone my secret," replied Sayla.

            "You're welcome, Artesia," Bright said, using Sayla's real name.

            "I think that the only reason that we haven't killed each other is because of Mirai," noted Sayla.

            "What do you mean?" asked Bright.

            "Mirai and I and fairly close friends, Bright, so wouldn't do anything to hurt you, and you wouldn't do anything to hurt me."

            "Oh, I wouldn't hurt you anyway.  I wouldn't stoop that low, and I certainly wouldn't think you would."

            Sayla gave him a crafty smile.

            "You were being sarcastic, about killing each other, weren't you?"

            "Of course," said Sayla, getting off the bench. "I'm going to go to bed now. Au revoir!"

            "Good night," Bright called as the blonde went back inside. Then he suddenly realized something; he had nothing to worry about. Sayla had already told him what the future held.

Please read and review!!! Chapter Ten in coming soon!!! ~Lady Une-chan


	10. Chapter Ten

In Love and War

By Lady Une-chan****

**Chapter Ten**

January 11, UC 0080

London, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth

The Noah Residence

            Bright slowly opened the door to his bedroom (well, the one that Mirai was staying in). The sun filtered through the blinds on the window, leaving trails of lights across the room.  Mirai was sleeping soundly as he tip-toed across the floor. He slid open the closet, trying not to wake her. Unfortunately, it was then that the door decided to get stuck in it's track, producing a loud thud. Bright wheeled around, and sure enough, Mirai was awake, sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes.

            "Sorry! I just was trying to get--"

            "Your uniform," Mirai finished before he could. "It's okay. I really shouldn't be sleeping in here anyway; it's your bedroom."

            "You can go ahead and go back to sleep. It's only six o'clock. You don't have to take Sayla to the airport until about nine," Bright said, taking the outfit from the closet.

            But Mirai had already stood up and was starting to make the bed. "But I have to make you breakfast."

            Bright gave a chuckle. "You don't think that I can live on bread?"

            "No," she said, smoothing out the sheets and placing the pillows on top.

            "Very well then. I'll see downstairs," said Bright, as he exited the room.

            Mirai cracked a smile as she watched him leave. He was so different on _White Base, yet very much the same. He was a lot more open now that he wasn't commanding the ship that held the Federation's best weapon, and was acting more like his age. However, he was as stubborn as ever. Mirai couldn't help but wonder if Bright thought that she had changed. Well, she definitely had changed during the end of the war, and she knew that Bright didn't like that change. She went the opposite direction-- she was much more distant. But Mirai wanted to know if she had changed __after the war. Was she still distant, or had she gone back to being her normal self?_

            After changing into a pink blouse and skirt, Mirai went downstairs to find Bright and Sayla sitting at the kitchen table. He was reading the newspaper, whereas Sayla just sat there, drumming her fingers and looking completely bored.

            "Didn't get a good night's rest, eh, Sayla?" Mirai asked, opening the refrigerator.

            "Yeah, I couldn't sleep," Sayla replied, yawning.

            "Nightmares?"

            "Yeah," Sayla responded. Bright took this a "Newtype moment". Mirai was basically reading Sayla's mind because she knew the answers to her questions before she asked them. Once again, Bright felt a little out of the loop. He was a "Oldtype", and had no psychic powers whatsoever. He could only guess that Sayla's nightmares were about her brother.

            "That's too bad. Maybe you can nap on the plane," said Mirai, pulling out a carton of eggs.

            Bright set aside his newspaper. "Just make sure you don't sit next to someone who is talkative."

            Sayla smirked. "I'll try not to."

            "Sit down next to some attractive guy," Mirai advised, as she fried the eggs in a skillet. (Something Bright never attempted.)

            "Yeah, sit down next to a guy that looks just like me," added Bright. Sayla gave him a death glare, while Mirai broke out into giggles. "See, Mirai suggests it too!"

            "Well, make sure he doesn't look exactly like Bright. I want to be able to tell them apart!" Mirai set down plates of food in front of them, and seated herself at the table.

            "Oh, I'm sure you'd be able to tell us apart," Bright assured Mirai.

            "Well, gag me with a spoon!" Sayla said imitating a "valley girl".

            "Gladly," replied Bright, reaching for the utensil, only to be stopped by Mirai.

            "Hey, let's not be violent," she said, patting his arm. 

            They ate their meal in silence, and Mirai took the opportunity to study Bright's new military uniform. Besides the fact that the lieutenant insignia was changed to one of a captain, it wasn't like the uniform he had worn during the war. This uniform resembled the one worn by General Revil and the other soldiers that didn't actually go on the battlefield. In other words, it was not meant for combat.

            "Is something wrong, Mirai?" asked Bright.

            "Oh no, it's just..." she trailed off, "Why did Cameron call you 'Lieutenant Noah' instead of 'captain'?"

            "He probably was too stupid to figure it out," answered Sayla.

            "No, he probably just didn't know," said Bright in Cameron's defense.

            Sayla raised an eyebrow. Even though he didn't like Cameron, Bright always was nice to him. They had two things in common: a love for Mirai, and a hate for Sleggar. Now, Sayla knew that Bright thought that Sleggar was the scum of the Earth, and that he hated him even more than Cameron. Sayla herself was not fond of Sleggar. He flirted constantly with both her and Mirai, and when Sayla dismissed him, he focused all of his attention on the Asian. Bright was stung real bad by this, more than the whole Cameron ordeal. 

            "You're right. How could he have know that you got promoted?" Mirai agreed with Bright.

            Sayla just shook her head as got up and placed her plate in the sink. Not wanting to do the dishes for the thrid time, she wandered into the living room. Spying framed photographs on the fireplace mantel, she walked over and began to study them.

            Moments later she was joined by Bright and Mirai, who were laughing and giggling over something probably silly.

            "Is this your parents' wedding picture, Bright?" Sayla asked, pointing to a photo.

            Bright nodded. "Yeah."

            "How did they meet?" asked Mirai, as the group sat down on the couch.

            "My father was an escort for his cousin at a debutante ball. My mum had also arrived with a cousin-- her original escort had the flu. Both my parents were too embarrassed to dance with their cousins, so the ended dancing with each other."

            "How cute!" exclaimed Mirai. Meanwhile, Sayla was rolling her eyes and mouthing the words, "Gag me with a spoon!"

            "How did your parents meet?" Bright asked Mirai, ignoring the blonde.

            "Let's just say it's a long story involving the Loch Ness Monster and the Five Eyed God Emperor of Japan named Fudo Myo."

            A confused look passed though Bright face. "W-what?"

            "She's kidding," Sayla whispered in his ear.

            Bright gave both women a puzzled look as they broke out in a giggle fit.

            "Dude, five eyes," said Sayla, between the bouts of laughter.

            "But, seriously, Bright, it has to do it! Both my _Otou-san and __Okaa-san--" started Mirai._

            "Your what?" asked Bright.

            "My father and mother. Anyway, they were both at the library, looking up legends, and _Otou-san--Father--was looking for a book on Fudo Myo, and my __Okaa-san--Mother-- was looking for a book on the Loch Ness Monster!"_

            "Oh," said Bright, "I was thinking of something else."

            "Bright! Get your mind out of the gutter!" Mirai smacked him on the shoulder.

            "Oww!" faked Bright, as he rubbed where she hit him.

            "Gag--"

            "Don't, Sayla," Mirai cut her off.

            "I have to go brush my teeth," announced Bright, as he got up and headed for the stairs.

            Mirai nodded and followed him.

            "You guys care a little too much about hygiene," Sayla called after them.

            "And you wanted to be a doctor," Mirai replied, sarcastically.

            "Okay, okay," said Sayla, following in suite.

            So they all went upstairs, only to go back down five minutes later.

            "I have to go to work now," Bright said, "Don't forget to go to the airport nine. So, Sayla, I'll seen you soon, and Mirai, I'll be back at around five-thirty. There's something I want to talk about with you." He kissed Mirai on the cheek and left for the army base.

            "So what are we going to do?" asked Sayla as soon as Bright left.

            "Clean," answered Mirai.

            "Clean? God, Mirai, you are nuts. The house looks clean enough to me."

            "Oh well, I was just trying to help Bright."

            "You've proving my point."

            "What?" asked Mirai, a little puzzled.

            "You're doing Bright's housework for him," said Sayla.

            "I'm living here too now," defended Mirai.

            Sayla just sighed and sat down on the couch.

            So Mirai went around cleaning the house while Sayla watched TV. And they did this until nine o'clock. Then Mirai grabbed the rental car keys, and they headed to the airport. 

            They sat in silence as Mirai drove. Then she suddenly spoke.

            "It's hard being part Newtype, _ne? I don't always know what I want to know."_

            "I know where this is leading," replied Sayla, "But I'm sorry, Mirai, but this is something that you'll just have to figure out for yourself."

            "But, Sayla--"

            "No, Mirai. I'm not going to tell you."

            The Asian pouted and concentrated on driving. Sayla gazed idly out the window until they arrived at the airport-shuttleport.

            "You can just drop me off here," said Sayla.

            "I assume I'll be seeing you soon," replied Mirai, as she coasted the car to a stop.

            Sayla opened the car door. "You assume correctly." There was a slight pause. "You'll know why soon enough."

            "Well then, 'bye," Mirai said. Sayla shut the car door and waved good-bye as the  vehicle pulled away.

            Mirai returned home and realized that there wasn't really a need to clean. Bright kept the house tip-top condition, but Mirai wanted to help anyway. So she flopped down in front of the television and began to channel surf.  All that was on was soap operas and talk shows. Mirai wasn't ever one for soap operas; someone was always having an affair, someone was dying, someone was pregnant, and someone had amnesia. She found them a bit too repetitive. There wasn't anyone good on the talk shows, so Mirai switched off the TV and decided to go upstairs to the study and choose a book to read.

            Although the Noahs had an extensive collection of books, there were few that Mirai hadn't read. She would finally find one, but after reading the back cover, she would sit it back on the self in it's proper place, not interested in the story it had to offer. Now, there were plenty of books Mirai would have liked to reread, but she couldn't decide which one.

            Then that voice inside of her suddenly told her to look in one of the drawers on the desk. She sat down in the swivel chair and opened the top drawer. Inside was pencils, pens, paper clips, and all the other usual office supplies. Not satisfied with its contents, Mirai closed that drawer and opened the next, which contained paper and folders. So she opened that bottom drawer, in which was what looked like a stationery box. This was little peculiar, because the rest of the stationery was in the paper drawer. Curiously, Mirai took the box out and lifted off the lid. It was filled with pieces of binder paper. Each piece was folded into a square, just the right size to fit into a pocket. She unfolded the one on top, revealing what appeared to be letter, written in Bright's neat handwriting. Then she noticed the letter was to her.

_November 5, UC 0079_

_Mirai--_

_            First and foremost, I would like to thank you for trying your best to command White Base__ while I was ill. I know that you felt that you weren't fit for the job, but there is something extraordinary about you. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Just keep trying to do your best. That's all I can ask. I did the right thing, making you second-in-command._

_            I also would like to thank you for taking care of me. You were kind enough to come and check on me between your duties. _

_-- Bright_

            Mirai stared at the little note. Why didn't Bright give this her? Was he embarrassed or something? She refolded the first letter and picked up the second one.

_December 1, UC 0079_

_Mirai--_

_            I am sorry that I was rude to you yesterday. I just was a little more than surprised to find out that you had a fiancé. I didn't mean to yell at you. It's truly only your own business, however, I can't help but feel that this was something that I should have know about. _

_            I just wanted to let you know that I consider you my closest friend. If there is any thing that you need to talk about, I am more than willing to listen. I will always respect your opinion._

_Bright_

            Mirai gave a half-hearted smile. That was Bright for you. However, she still thought that it was strange that he never gave these notes to her.

_December 25, UC 0079_

_Dear Mirai,_

_            It's quite obvious that you are not having a merry christmas. This has been a tough time of all of the crew, but especially you. First you broke up with Cameron and then Sleggar died. You've been acting very depressed and sad. I wish that I could say or do something that would make you feel better. Unfortunately, I don't think that I'm capable of that._

_            I guess what I am trying to say is that I will be here for you. I care deeply for you, and it troubles me to see you like this. You mean a lot to me. I find myself constantly worrying about you, rather than the war. I wonder if this makes me a bad soldier, a bad commander. Instead of concentrating on how to win battles, I concentrate on you. Is this foolish me, Mirai?_

_            I know what you'd say. "Oh, don't worry about me, Bright. I'm fine." That's how you always answer. Why won't you tell me the truth? Why do you have to lie? Do think that if you lie, that I won't worry about you?_

_            I will always worry about you. I will always care for you, even if you never do. I will always be here if you need a shoulder to cry on._

_Bright_

            She felt a couple of tears run down her cheek.  At the time, she knew that Bright had feelings for her, but never this strong. Mirai folded the note and opened the last one.

_December 28, UC 0079_

_Dearest Mirai,_

_            I don't even know if I'll give you this letter. I've written you notes before, but I never gave them to you._

_            Why won't you talk to me, Mirai? You seem so distant. Whatever happened to the Mirai I knew? I know that the war's been hard on you, but it's been hard on me, too._

_            But do you know what has been harder on me than war? Love. Sure, the war's made me mature a lot faster, but love has changed me in more ways._

_            Do you know how I felt when I found out that you had a fiancé?Hurt. Betrayed. Jealous. You surprised me when you broke up with him. I felt like I might have a chance to be with you._

_            And then there was Sleggar. I really don't understand what happened between you two. But you weeped when he died. I could help but wonder if you would cry like that if I was to die._

_            Am I selfish to want you, Mirai? I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy. I care about you more than you know. I just wish I could make you feel better. You have been very depressed lately._

_            So why won't you talk to me? I don't care if you hurt my feelings; just as long as you are happy. I am sick of hearing you say for me to stop worrying about you. I am sick of you lying and saying that you are fine. Just tell me the truth, Mirai. I will never stop worrying about you. I love you too much. I fear that I am perhaps I little too overprotective, but I don't care._

_            Please consider talking with me, Mirai._

_Affectionately,_

_Bright_

            Mirai managed to stop crying and put the last letter back in it's rightful place. This was something that she needed to talk about tonight with Bright. So she took the stationery box downstairs with her, where she sat it down on the counter and made herself lunch.

            Meanwhile, Bright was too nervous to do any work. His assistant, Herbert Longfellow, noticed this, and inquired. "Is something troubling you, sir?"

            Bright looked at the short, brunet, young man. Herbert was always too eager to help him. He had been assigned to be assist Bright only a week ago. Unfortunately, Herbert hadn't had much to do, especially since Bright had been on leave.  Not to mention, there was barely any work to be done anyway. "Well, I'm going to do something very important tonight." Bright choose his words carefully.

            "Does it have something to do with Miss Yashima?" Herbert asked.

            Bright turned away from Herbert and blushed deep red.

            "It does, doesn't it?"

            "Well, yes," Bright mumbled, shuffling through papers on his desk.

            "She lives with you, right, Captain Noah?"

            "How do you know that?"

            "Everyone knows that, sir," Herbert answered.

            A cross expression came across Bright's face. "They do, do they?"

            Herbert nodded. "Yes, sir."

            Bright sighed and continued to shuffle through papers.

            "You're going to ask her to marry you, aren't you?"

            The Brit's face got redder. "I'm not exactly sure that's any of your business."

            "Ha! You are!"

            "Are you a Newtype?" Bright asked.

            "No, why?"

            Bright lowered his voice. "How else would you know?"

            "Ah, deductive reasoning, sir. I just drew the conclusion from the facts. You are doing something important tonight; your whole world revolves around Miss Yashima; she lives with you. No, I'm not a Newtype, sir," Herbert answered.

            Bright looked at his watch. "Well, it's time to take lunch break. I've got something that I need to do."

            "Are you going to the jewelery store?" Herbert asked.

            "And you say you're not a Newtype?"

            "I am not a Newtype, sir," Herbert answered.

            "Well, you sure could pass for one," Bright replied.

            "I just used deductive reasoning again. With Miss Yashima living with you now, it would be hard to go out and buy her an engagement ring without her noticing. Buying it during you're lunch hour is a clever idea."

            "Well, you are one smart man, Herbert," said Bright as he started to leave the office.

            "Thank you, sir!" Herbert called after him.

* * *

            "I'm home!" Bright called as he entered the house.

            Mirai came into the living room from the kitchen. "How was work?"

            "The usual," he answered, avoiding eye contact. Mirai had hoped that this could help figure out what he wanted to talk about tonight since Sayla had refused to tell her.

            "Well, I've got dinner almost already." She went back to into the kitchen, Bright following her.

            "So what did you do--" he started, but cut himself off when he saw the stationery box on the counter. "Where did you get this?"

            "I found it in your desk drawer," Mirai said, as she put the plates of steaming food on the table and then sat down.

            "Why?" Bright asked, sitting down in his spot.

            "I had a hunch that there was something in the desk that we needed to talk about," answered Mirai.

            Bright decided to use deductive reasoning. "Do you want to know why I didn't give the letters?"

            "Yes," Mirai replied, twirling her fork idly in her food.

            "Well, the reason I didn't give you the first couple of letters was because I was a little embarrassed about them," Bright admitted. "As for the others, I didn't give them to you because they said things that I needed to say out loud to you. I guess that wrote them to help work out my feelings." He shoveled the food into his mouth.

            "Why didn't you tell me out loud then?" Mirai asked.

            "Two reasons: one, we were fighting a war. As a commander, I needed to put the entire crew before my own personal feelings. Two, I was afraid that if I told you I loved you right after Sleggar died that you would latch on me because I said it. I wanted to you to work out your feelings before I told you mine."

            Mirai sighed. "Yes, I suppose it was the right thing to do." She watched Bright get up from the table and put his empty plate in the sink, already done with his dinner. He turned back to Mirai and noticed that she hadn't even taken a bite of her food.

            "Don't like your own cooking?" Bright asked, kiddingly.

            "Oh, well, it's just..." Mirai trailed off.

            He placed his hand on her shoulder. "I don't mean to sound like Frau, but you need to eat."

            She nodded and obeyed, and Bright rinsed off his dishes and placed in the dishwasher. "I'll be in the living room. There's something I want to talk to you about."

            "I know," Mirai said in-between bites.

            A worried look crossed his face. Newtypes always ruined his element of surprise. "You do?" he asked, softly.

            "You told me this morning. However, I honestly do not know what you want to talk about," she answered.

            That lifted Bright's spirits. "Well, then. I'll see you in the living room," he said and left the kitchen.

            Mirai hurried to finish her dinner and wash her plate. She basically ran out of the room and hopped down on the couch beside Bright.

            "So what do you want to talk about?" she asked.

            "You seriously don't know?" Even if her Newtype abilities didn't allow to see the future, he was sure that Mirai would at least be able to guess.

            She shook her head "no". This unfortunately made Bright more nervous. If she'd already known what he was about to do, it would make things a lot more easier.

            "Oh," was his answer.

            Meanwhile, Mirai was racking her brain to give her some clue as to what this was all about. "Does this have something to do with our living situation?"

            "Actually, it does."

            "Does it have something to do with how we define our relationship?"

            "It does very much."

            Mirai's hand flew to do her mouth in shock. "Are you asking--" she started, tears beginning to flow. "Are you asking me to--" she tried again.

            Bright couldn't contain himself anymore. "Yes, Mirai, I am asking you to marry me." She threw herself into his arms and the two kissed passionately. When they broke away, Bright asked, "Don't you want to have your engagment ring? You didn't give me the chance to give it to you." He pulled a small box out of his pocket and handed it to her.

            Mirai opened the box and stared at the ring.

            "Do you like it?" Bright ventured.

            "Of course!" she exclaimed, putting it on her finger.

            They kissed once more, until Mirai pulled away.

            "Is something wrong?" asked Bright.

            "Well, I was hoping that we could talk some more," she answered.

            "About what?"

            "About our future. Like how many children we want to have, and that kind of thing.

            So they spent entire night dicussing these things.

            And that is where this chapter ends.

Hee hee!! Be sure to read and review! Chapter 11 is coming soon!! ~ Lady Une-chan


	11. Chapter Eleven

_Konnichiwa!_ I finally wrote the next chapter! I would to thank all the people who read this story espeically those that have read entire thing up to this part! _Arigato!_

Also,  I just want to say that I don't hate Cameron, and if any of you think that I do, I'm very sorry. When I first watched _Mobile Suit Gundam, I didn't like that he came and made a riff between Bright and Mirai. I have seen __Char's Counterattack (FINALLY!), and Cameron is not a bad guy. Okay? Compared to Sleggar, Cameron is a god!_

Share and enjoy!

~Lady Une-chan

Disclaimer: I don't own _MSG. Yoshiyuki Tomino does. I love you, Yoshi! We all do!_

_In Love and War_

By Lady Une-chan

**Chapter Eleven**

January 12, UC 0080

London, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth

The Noah Residence

            _Tap, tap, tap. The pencil's eraser bounced off the legal pad.  Mirai sat at the kitchen table, wondering if she should invite her cousins, who lived in Japan, to her wedding. The four sisters were quite weird-- no, that wasn't the appropriate adjective. They were quite crazy, and the fact that they didn't speak English very well didn't help. She had consulted Bright on the question, who insisted that it was her choice, not his. Apparently, he didn't care if four crazy Geisha girls showed up for his wedding. Once the girls realized what type of ceremony they were attending, they'd dress up in traditional Japanese kimonos._

            Mirai sighed and continued to tap the pencil against the paper. She looked down at the guest list, the asterisk indicating who they wanted to be in the wedding party. Most of the list consisted the former _White Base crew members. The only other people were Bright's uncle and his wife, who lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, and a few people Bright knew from work (including Hebert Longfellow). Mirai stopped tapping and wrote "Suki Kazoku", the Yashima's family housekeeper, at the bottom of the list. "Suki Kazoku" meant "the favorite of the household", which Mirai always though was a interesting, but fitting name. Suki had basically raised her, and she was a bit embarrassed that she hadn't thought of her before.  She gave up and wrote underneath that the names of her cousins, "Naoko Yashima", "Megumi Yashima", "Megami Yashima", and "Nikoru Yashima", starting with the oldest, ending with the youngest. Mirai then remembered that Cameron had said something about wanting to go her and Bright's wedding, so she added his name as well as a couple generals and senators that were friends of her father._

            The phone rang suddenly, and Mirai practically jumped out of her skin. She ran over and picked up the reciever. "Hello, Noah residence," she said.

            "Hey, this is Sayla," replied the voice on the other end.

            Mirai smiled. "Hey yourself. I suppose that you know what happened last night."

            "Of  course I know. Did Bright tell you I wanted the chicken?"

            "No, I'll have to write that down. Is something the matter?" Mirai asked, sensing trouble.

            "Yes, there is. I was researching and--"

            "You didn't go to the seminar, did you?"

            "That's besides the point," Sayla said, exasperated, "Anyway, I was hacking into files, etc., and found out something important."

            "Well, what is it?" Mirai said, a bit impatiently.

            "Okay, you remember the crazy guy that shot you, right?"

            "How could I not?"

            "Anyway, the police said that he escaped the asylum. They didn't say how, though. But according to the files, it appears that somebody let him out. Two suspicious men had visited the escapee only half a hour before the asylum staff realized that he was missing. I think that these men told the nutcase that if he killed Bright for them that you would be his prize."

            Mirai sunk down into a chair. "Are you implying that there is still someone out there that wants to--" she trailed off.

            "Yes. I've decided to come back before the wedding. I've got a plane ticket for tomorrow. I'll see you then, okay?"

            "Okay," Mirai said in somewhat of a disoriented voice.

            "Don't worry. Bye," Sayla said and hanged up.

            Mirai set the reciever back down into cradle. "Don't worry," she echoed Sayla. "Yeah right. I worry about everything!" She glanced at the clock. It was about two o'clock p.m., which meant that Bright wouldn't be home from work for three and a half hours. That meant three and a half hours of worrying. Of course, it was apparent that the assassin knew were Bright lived, which meant that she'd be worrying about this until who knows when.

            She went back to work on her list, or rather, tapping the end of her pencil. There was a lot that they need to do before the wedding-- which they had scheduled a week from now.  Sure, that seemed a little too soon but they'd realized that life was too short to spend a lot of time planning.

            Mirai yawned. They had stayed up until almost midnight last night. She was just thinking about taking a nap when the phone rang again.

            "Hello, Noah residence."

            "Er, hi. This is Herbert Longfellow. Is this Mirai Yashima?" asked the caller.

            "Yes," she answered slowly.

            "Um, well, I'm Bright's assistant, you know, from work.  I just wanted to tell you, um, that there was an accident of sorts--"

            "Wait," Mirai demanded, cutting him off. "An accident? It was no accident, Herbert, there must someone out there that is trying to kill him. He wasn't hurt, was he? The assassin missed him, right?" she asked.

            "Err, yeah--" Herbert started.

            "Then why isn't he the one calling me?"

            "Well, he got a cut on his right arm, so he's in the infirmary. The military wants you to come pick him up--"

            "I've be there in a moment," Mirai cut in again.

            "Err... okay, then. Good-bye."

            She hung up the phone, grabbed her purse, and dashed into the garage. She fished the keys to Bright's parents' old car put of her purse. He had given her the keys in case she needed to go somewhere while he was at work. She hopped in the car and sped off.

            Once Mirai arrived at the military base, she had no trouble finding the infirmary. She ran into the building, only to find out that it was more like a hospital. She started to look for Bright, but was stopped by a nurse.

            "Who are you, ma'am?"

            "Mirai Yashima," the Asian answered.

            "Ah," said the nurse with a smile. "Looking for Captain Noah?

            "Of course!"

            "He's in Room 5," the nurse told and continued down the hall.

            Mirai looked at the closest door. The plaque read "Room 45". Mirai want to turn around and say to the nurse, "And where the heck is that?" But the nurse had turned the corner and was no where to be seen. _Great, thought Mirai.__ I could be seaching for him for hours! She decided to go in the direction the nurse had gone in. The numbers of the doors started to decrease, and finally she arrived at Room 5. Apparently, the front door to the infirmary faced toward the inside of the base, and she had entered from the outside of the base._

            The door creaked as Mirai pushed it opened. She sighed with relief to see Bright sitting on the bed with his jacket in his lap and a small gash on his right arm.

            "Mirai!" said Bright, suddenly alert. "Come in!" She followed his command and went over to look at his wound. It was only an inch long, but it looked fairly deep.

            "Why isn't it bandaged?" Mirai inquired.

            "Because the nurse said that the doctor need to see it, so she only cleaned it up."

            "Well, where is the doctor?"

            "I don't know. That's who I was waiting for when you walked it. Herbert told me he was going to call you, but I haven't seen him since then."

            "What exactly happened?" asked Mirai. "I kind of cut Herbert off on the phone. I was in a hurry."

            Bright laughed at this. "It's kind of stupid, but the A wing's coffee maker broke. So they borrowed the H wing's coffee maker. And I work in the H wing, so Herbert and I were on our way to the A wing for some coffee, because they had our coffee maker--"

            "Wait a minute," interrupted Mirai, "I never knew that you drink coffee. You always drink tea at home."

            "Well, I only drink coffee at work. And I normally only drink one cup. Anyway, so Herbert and I were on our way to the A wing when the stupid assassin tried to kill me. However, his aim was a bit off and he hit my coffee mug!"

            "So how did you end up with the cut?"

            "The coffee mug broke into a million pieces and the ceramic cut me."

            "Ceramic did this?" Mirai asked, pointing to his arm.

            "Yeah. I told you it was stupid."

            "Well, thank God you're alright. He could have killed--" she started, but was interrupted when the door opened. A tall women in a white lab coat entered the room. She had dark hair that was pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head. She ddin't look like a person you'd want to mess with.

            "Are you Captain Noah?" the doctor asked.

            "Yes," Bright replied, "And you are?"

            "Doctor Rosalina Morales. Who is she?" The doctor pointed to Mirai. Apparenly, she haven't heard the rumors.

            "My fianceé," Bright answered, wanting to add "duh".

            Dr. Morales looked as if she didn't think Mirai belonged here. "Does she work for the military?"

            _God, she must be oblivious to the One Year War, thought Bright. He started to start speak, but Mirai jumped ahead of him._

            "I used to. I was the pilot of _White Base. You know, the assault carrier? The one with the Gundam?" Mirai said this in a fairly rude tone of voice._

            "Oh," said Dr. Morales, basically ignoring the brunette. She leaned over to examine Bright's arm. "You need sutures," she determined. The doctor walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Dermabond Liquid Stiches [A/N: There is a such thing! And I don't own it!] and a couple of Q- tips. As she tended to his wound, the door suddenly opened for a third time.

            "Captain Noah?" asked the short, brown haired man that entered. He saw that he was in the right place and then looked over at Mirai. "Oh, hello, Miss Yashima."

            Mirai stuck out her hand. "We never had a proper introduction. I'd prefer if you'd call me Mirai."

            The man shook her hand. "I'm Herbert Longfellow. It's a pleasure to finally meet you ma'am."

            "Oh, does Bright talk about me?"

            "Oh, all the time, ma'am," Herbert said with exaggeration.

            "Of course I talk about you all the time, Mirai," said Bright as the doctor finished bandaging his arm. Dr. Morales gave the trio a stange look and then cleared her throat.

            "I'd like to see you in two weeks," she said and promptly left the room.

            "Who spit in her bean curd?" asked Herbert, jerking his thumb in the direction Morales left.

            Bright shrugged and hoped off the the bed.  "Let's go."

            Mirai lead the procession back to the parking lot.

            "Aww, man! You brought the station wagon?" Bright said, pointing to his parents car.

            "How was a supposed to get here? Fly?" asked Mirai.

            "Well, how is my car going to get home?"

            "Herbert can drive it," answered Mirai.

            Herbert, who was trailing behind them, suddenly perked up. "Really? I can drive your car?"

            Bright started to say something, but Mirai cut him off. "Of course."

            "How is he going to get back to his house?" Bright finally got to ask.

            "Easy. He first drives back to his home, then his girlfriend picks him up and drives him back here. Then he drives your car to our house with his girlfriend following him. Then the two stay for dinner. After that, his girlfriend will take him home and then she will go home too."

            "How do you know that I have a girlfriend?" asked Herbert. "I never told Bright, so how could you know?"

            "I'm part Newtype," said Mirai, with a bit of a sigh.

            "Oh. That's cool, Miss-- I mean Mirai."

            "Well, let's put the plan in action. We'll see you around 5 o'clock, then," said Mirai as she opened the door to the driver's seat. Herbert waved good-bye and left.

            "Wait, you're driving?" asked Bright.

            "Yes, I'm the one with the keys. Plus, you don't like your parents car, not to mention you just injured your arm." Mirai sat down.

            "Fine," said Bright, walking around the car and climbing into the passenager seat.

            On they were on the road, Bright asked, "Did you finish the guest list?"

            "I suppose so," was Mirai's answer.

            "You suppose so? You know, you say that a lot, like you're never sure of anything," Bright commented.

            "I say that because what happens if I'm wrong? I guess that's why I say that."

            "You practically said the same thing with different words. 'I guess that's why I say that'. Are you sure that's why? Do you think that you're wrong? Hmm, Mirai?"

            "What exactly are you trying to do, Bright?" asked Mirai.

            "Boost your self-esteem. If you think that you are right, just say it."

            "Okay, to answer your earlier question, I've put down everyone I could think of before Sayla called."

            "Sayla called?" asked Bright.

            "Yeah. Um, it wasn't exactly good news either. You remember how the police said that the guy escaped from the asylum? Well, Sayla looked at the asylum's records, and it said that two suspicious men had visited the escapee only half a hour before the asylum staff realized that he was missing. Sayla said that she thought that those men told the the man that..." Mirai trailed off. 

            "That if he killed me that he could have you," Bright filled in the blank. "And now the men have hired someone new. Apparently, they really want me dead."

            "Sayla is coming back tomorrow. I guess she thinks that with her here, she can protect you or something."

            "Why do you think they want to kill me? What do I have that they don't want me to have? What do I know that they don't want me know?" asked Bright. Well, he did know that Sayla was really a Zeon princess named Artesia, but he didn't think people would kill him over that.

            "The V Project," Mirai said suddenly.

            "What about it?" asked Bright, very confused.

            "They want to give rid of you because you know about the V Project."

            "Why? Heck, Mirai, you know about the V Project!"

            "But Bright, you worked on _White Base when the V Project was made. You were trained to use the mobile suits from the V Project for strategy. You are the only surviving member of the original __White Base crew!"_

            Bright hadn't thought about it that way. When he originally worked on _White Base, he was one of the ship's strategists. He had been trained to use those mobile suits-- the RX-78 Gundam, the Guncannon, and the Guntank-- in the strategy plans. That's why, as acting captain of __White Base, he was able to create strategy for Amuro, Kai, and Hayato._

            "So, you think that someone wants to kill because I studied the V Project for strategy?"

            "Yes," she answered.

            Mirai's hunchs were almost always right. She was part Newtype. In fact, Bright couldn't think of a time when one of them was wrong. This is why Mirai should never say "I suppose so".

            The two finally made it home. Mirai went straight to work in the kitchen, preparing dinner and Bright went to work on things for the wedding.

            Herbert arrived promptly at five o'clock with a fairly tall redhead for his date.

            "Captain Noah, this is Erin O'Dell, my girlfriend. Erin, this is Captain Bright Noah," introduced Herbert.

            "And who is she?" asked Erin with an Irish accent, pointing to Mirai, who just popped out of the kitchen.

            "Oh, this is Miss Mirai Yashima, soon to be Mrs. Mirai Noah. She's Bright's fiancée."

            Bright blushed as Mirai shook Erin's hand. "Please, just call me Mirai," said the brunette. But Erin was more interested in Mirai's engagement ring rather than her name.

            "Ooo, how beautiful!" she squealed as she examined the diamond and gold piece of jewelery.

            "Well, dinner's ready!" Mirai announced, in hopes that she would be able to have her left hand back.

            Mirai returned to the kitchen as Bright lead the guests into the dining room. He was forced to try and entertain them for a few minutes until Mirai came in with the food.

            Herbert was acting overly excited about this visit. Apparently, within the few weeks he worked for Bright, he had decided that the young captain was his hero. Bright was beginning to think that Herbert worshiped him.

            The meal was fairly uneventful, dispite the fact the Herbert was acting like a hyper child on sugar and Erin was obsessed with the fact that Bright and Mirai had money. A lot of money. They carried out the rest of the plan, going home after dinner.

            However, Bright could not sleep.  He still couldn't get over that someone wanted to kill him because he was trained to use the V Project. What about Amuro? He piloted part the stupid V Project. And everyone on _White Base knew about. But apparently Bright was special._

***

            It was ten o'clock a.m. Mirai, using her Newtype abilites, knew that Sayla was going to arrive in approximately five minutes and twelve seconds. However, someone else was going to visit them too.

            But for now, let's just focus on Sayla, who of course, arrived at the predicted time.   She was quick to ask if Bright would describe in detail how the sniper tried to annihilate him, but instead  annihilated his coffee mug. Mirai explained her hunch about the V Project.

            "Really? The V Project? If it was over the V Project, wouldn't they rather kill all of us from _White Base? We all know about the project, heck, we piloted it!" exclaimed Sayla._

            "It's because I was trained to use the Gundam, the Guncannon, and the Guntank in the strategy, according to Mirai. I was one of the ship's strategists before the original _White Base crew was killed, before I became in charge," said Bright._

            "So, just because you knew-- hey! Wait a minute, you knew about the V Project when it was confidential, so you technically know more about the V Project then we do! That's got to be it!" Sayla concluded.

            "But, I still really don't know why someone would want me dead over the V Project!"

            "I don't know either. It makes sense, but at the same time, it doesn't make any sense at all," said Mirai, quietly.

            The doorbell rang, and Sayla gave nod to Bright to answer it.

            This is where the other visitor comes in.

            And this other visitor was Amuro Ray, the former pilot of the Gundam. Even though it only been a few weeks since Bright had seen the auburned haired boy, but Amuro looked as if he had grown a few inches. 

            "Hey."

            "Hey, yourself, Amuro. Come on in," invited Bright.

            Amuro entered the house and headed over to the blonde.

            "Say, isn't there something you owe me?"

            "Is this how you always start a conversation?" asked Sayla.

            "You know what I'm talking about."

            "God, impatient one," Sayla pulled out her wallet. "Here's a hundred euro. As agreed."

            Amuro pocketed the money and turned back to Bright and Mirai.  But before he could say anything, Mirai said, "Let me guess, I somehow was imvolved with the earning of that money."

            The pilot grinned sheepishly.

            "What?" asked Bright.

            "Amuro, were you guys betting on when Bright and I were getting married?" asked Mirai, a bit disgusted.

            "Um, no. Actually, we were betting on when you two became an 'item'," said Amuro, making quotation marks with his fingers.

            "Sayla, don't you know not to bet with a Newtype?" asked Bright.

            "Hey, I'm part Newtype!"

            "I can't believe you were betting on us!"

            "Hey, now guys," Amuro interceded, "let's be friendly."

            Mirai gave Amuro an evil glare.

            "Anyways, hello Amuro. It's nice of you to show up. At my house. Which you magically found," said Bright in short setences.

            "He's, like, a Newtype!" exclaimed Sayla.

            "Well, he could have waited to show up for the wedding, when it was time for the wedding. He could have been unlike a certain someone that invited herself over. Again."

            "Hey, if I wasn't here the first time, there might have not been a wedding! Instead, we all could be going to Mirai's funeral!"

            "Um, I rather not argue about that one. I prefer living," interjected Mirai.

            "Isn't there some pressing matter that we need to be talking about," Amuro changed the subject.

            "Well, accoring to Mirai, there is a group of men--" started Bright.

            "At least two guys--" Sayla interrupted.

            "--that want to kill me because I studied the V Project for strategy--"

            "But I was the one that piloted the Gundam!" exclaimed Amuro.

            "--and Sayla says that I technically know more about the V Project then you guys do because I  knew about the project when it was confidential!" Bright finally finished.

            "I still don't think I understand why someone would want to kill you over something that is out in the open now," stated Amuro, "It's public informantion. Everyone knows about the Gundam and _White Base."_

            "Does the public know that it's called the V Project?" Mirai suddenly entered the conversation.

            "Actually, know that you say that, I don't think so," said Sayla.

            "But why would that make any difference? asked Amuro.

            Bright shrugged. "Maybe they hate the letter 'v'."

            "Yes, that's it!" said Sayla, rolling her eyes.

            Mirai sighed. "Let's try and be serious."

            "Well, I think that we need to hunt down these guys and show off our hand-to-hand combat skills," said Amuro.

            "The military made it clear that I'm not supposed to return to work until the 'killers' have been caught. Frankly, I find that odd. But apparently the Earth Federation thinks that me not being there makes the military safe," commented Bright.

            "So, let's kick some butt!" exclaimed Amuro.

            "Now wait a minute," cautioned Mirai, "I don't want anyone getting killed. Besides you'll be arrested for: one, starting a fight in a public place; two, if you kill them, you'll be charged with murder!"

            "Don't worry, honey, we'll get a special warrant from the military," Bright reassured Mirai.

            She sighed again. "Will the military give you one?"

            "I'm sure that we will," Amuro said with a wink.

            "So, what's the plan?" asked Sayla, eagerly.

            "Well, we're going to need to go to the restaurant that you guys first felt followed," Amuro explained.

            "And?" Bright asked.

            "We'll meet those villians," Amuro continued.

            "And?" asked Bright and Sayla.

            "That's when we go _mano a mano!"_

            "So, you're going to bust out your karate moves in the middle of an Italian restaurant?" asked Mirai.

            "Hey, maybe they're Italian mobsters!" Sayla exclaimed.

            "Sayla!" Mirai scolded.

            Amuro rolled his eyes. "You've changed since the war. You're a lot sillier!"

            "And what's that suppose to mean?" asked the blonde.

            "It means you're sillier!"

            "Can we get back on the subject?" Mirai asked.

            "Okay, okay," said Amuro, "Bright call and make reservations."

            Bright raised an eyebrow. "We need reservations just to bust in and beat up two guys?"

            Amuro smiled. "We're going to sneak up on them by eating dinner first. Mirai and Sayla are coming too."

            "I really don't want Mirai to come with us," said Bright, putting an arm protectively around his fiancée. "It's too dangerous. She's already been injured by an associate of these men."

            "And you have too," Sayla said, pointing to Bright's other arm.

            "If Bright doesn't want me to go, then I won't," stated Mirai.

            "But we need you Mirai! It was look kind of awkward if two guys and a girl go out of dinner. Besides, if people that know Bright see him without you, they'll start to wonder," Amuro explained.

            But Mirai just shook her head. "I'm not going. I don't even want Bright to go, but he kinda has to."

            Bright sighed. "Well, if I'm going, then I guess Mirai will too. That is if she wants to."

            "Let's make it a group effort," agreed Mirai.

            So it was planned. Bright called and made reservations. Amuro suggested that they dress up a bit. Mirai told him that they didn't have to, but he insisted. He also insisted that Bright wear his military uniform. The men went down to the base after lunch and ask for a warrant. A special one was granted, however, it stated that they were not allowed to kill the assassins, unless it was in self-defense.

            At about six o'clock, the four headed for the restaurant. When they arrived, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. During dinner, it became apparent that Amuro knew more that he let on.  But it was when they were ordering dessert that a man tapped Bright on the shoulder. The Brit became surprised, wheeled around, and almost slapped him. The man back up a bit and explained that someone wanted to see him in the backroom of the restaurant. The entire table stood up, shocking the man, and went onward to the room. Bright caught the glance off the bartender, who shook his head.  Obviously, the restaurant staff knew that something was up.

            As soon as the entered the dark room, the karate chopping began. Sayla was wrong: these men looked as if they belonged in a Chinese Triad.  Bright and Amuro managed to knock out a couple of guys. Mirai and Sayla inched their way into the room, having to duck a few punches here and there. Mirai heard one of the henchman swear in Japanese and thought of a quick plan.

            "_Anata wa nihonjin desu ka?" she said, asking him if he was Japanese._

            "_Ha-hai," he answered confused, letting down his guard._

            "_Watashi mo nihonjin desu," Mirai replied, saying that she too was Japanese. At that time Sayla caught on, picked up a cooking pot, and hit the man over the head. _

            Bright and Amuro had seemed to have defeated the rest of the henchmen and they continued into the back of the room. The lights suddenly flicked on, revealing two Asian men sitting at a card table. The taller one stood up and pointed a gun at Bright. In turn, Bright pulled his gun. Amuro cleverly sneaked around and attacked from the behind, htting the pressure point on the man's neck. The shorter one jumped up and shot off his gun, which whizzed by Sayla's head.

            Suddenly, they could hear the sound of police sirens. Apparently, one of the diners in the restaurant called the "bobbies". The men were arrested.

            Meanwhile, the heroes of our story returned home, exhausted.

Well, mina-san, we are coming very close to the end. All the action is order and this story is going to become a bit more comical and mushy all at the same time. The next chapter is probably the last. Review, please!

~Lady Une-chan


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Author's Note**

            Well, everyone, this is finally the end of this fanfic. I would like to thank you all for reading this, and especially those who reviewed. I've been working on this fanfic for a year!

            When I go back and read this first few chapter' I realize that it's not that great. I also noticed that there are many typos, so I'll eventually go back and edit them. (My spell check is a spaz.) I also like spelling "Noah" with an "h" at the end because that's the way it's spelled in the original manga. I continue to spell it that way 'cause I think it's looks better.

            After reading _Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin_, I realized that there are a number of things in that manga that clash with the TV show. I just wanted everyone to know that the fanfic is based on the TV show, not either version of the manga or the movies. I will admit that I do have some facts wrong (Mirai's father had actually died fairly recently in the TV show, but I wrote the first couple chapters based on memory), and for some reason I had some strong opinions (I now realize that Cameron is not a that bad), so thanks for bearing with me.

_Ja ne, minna-san!_

Lady Une-chan (a.k.a. Mirai in some circles)

Disclaimer: I've noticed that I've forgot to write this on every chapter. Anyway, Yoshiyuki Tomino created_ Mobile Suit Gundam. All the random other stuff I stole doesn't belong to me either!_

"In Love and War"

By Lady Une-chan

**Chapter Twelve**

January 16, UC 0080

London, England, The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Earth

The Ritz Carlton Hotel

            It was three days before the wedding. They had moved to the hotel that the ceremony was going to be held. Most of the guests had already arrived. However, Mirai's cousins had yet to show up. She wasn't even sure it they were coming, due to the fact they never called to say so.

            But Bright's uncle and aunt had arrived yesterday with their two sons, Ian and Paul. Ian was seventeen, tall, and talkative. He tried to flirt a bit with Sayla, but of course was rejected. Paul was fourteen, short, and quite. He was apparently shy and stayed by his parents' side.

            Cameron had sent them a personal note explaining that he wouldn't make it until the night before the wedding and was sorry that he miss out on any of the pre-wedding festivities. That's what he called it. "Pre-wedding festivities".

            Right now, however, the festivities were more like a reunion. Most of the former _White Base crew had made it there already. Kai still wasn't there, but that was understandable. Frau, Hayato, and kids had arrived, along with Marker and Oscar. They spent many hours reminiscing about the war._

            It was in the middle of the "salt story" that hotel notified Mirai and Bright that there were guests waiting in lobby for them. It turned out that they were her cousins.

            "_Kekkon omedetou!" four Japanese girls called to her. Other hotel guests turned their heads and stared._

            Bright cleared his throat and looked embarrassed. "What did they say?" he asked Mirai in a low voice.

            "Oh, they're just saying congratulations," she whispered back. But before Mirai could say "_arigato_", that two of the sisters, the ones dressed in _kimonos_, noticed Bright and how good looking he was.

            "_Kawaii!" the girls squealed in unison._

            "Ignore them," said a voice behind the giddy girls. An older girl, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, squeezed between them. "I'm Naoko Yashima, Mirai's cousin. I'm the only one who bothered to learn English."

            "Of her cousins?" Bright asked confused.

            One of the middle girls prodded Mirai in the ribs. "_Kare wa bishounen desu."_

            "I know," Mirai replied in English. To Bright, she said, "Let me introduce the others."  She gestured to the two girls in the kimonos, with long black hair. "These two are twins."

            Bright extended his hand, but the girls bowed. He quickly withdrew his hand and copied them.

            "They don't know much about Western traditions. Anyway, the one with buns in her hair is Megumi, and the other one is Megami," said Mirai.

            " 'Blessing' and 'goddess'," snorted Naoko.

            "Naoko_-chan," scolded Mirai. "And the baby of the family, Nikoru."_

            Bright turned to the last girl, unsure what to do. Nikoru shyly extended her hand, her other sleeve covering her face.

            "_Konnichiwa," she whispered._

            "Er.. _konnichiwa," answered Bright, and shook her hand._

            "_Og_enki desu ka?_" asked Nikoru._

            "Um... Mirai, what did she just say?" asked Bright.

            "She asked 'how are you'," answered Naoko.

            Mirai turned to the youngest and said something in Japanese. Nikoru nodded.

            "Hello," said Nikoru.

            "I thought only Naoko knew English," said Bright, confused once more.

            "Nikoru is learning English in school, apparently," said Mirai.

            "But she doesn't remember much of it," said Naoko.

            "_Urusai, Naoko-__chan!" exclaimed Mirai._

            "_Baka minna-san!" retorted Naoko._

            "Um, can anyone tell me what you're saying?" asked Bright.

            "Naoko's just being a brat," Mirai answered.

            The older cousin gave her a glare. "I'm sure you'll learn Japanese soon enough, Bright_-san_." Only she pronounced his name "Buraito".

            "Um, my name is Bright, you know, like the adjective. I'm not a burrito!"

            Mirai laughed. "She just was pronouncing like it was Japanese, honey."

            "I'm a not a Mexican food item."

            "Jeesh, _gomen nasai_," said Naoko, rolling her eyes.

            "If you actually speak English, you would realize that," said Bright, who was becoming quite impatient.

            "I believe the word 'burrito' is Spanish," retorted Naoko.

            "I was talking about my name, you idiot!"

            "Fine, Bright," Naoko said, drawing out each syllable.

            "Um, let's not get hostile," Mirai suggested. Even more people were staring at them. "Why don't we take them to meet the others?"

            Bright gave Naoko an evil glare, but, of course, agreed with Mirai and lead the group back upstairs.

            The others didn't have too much of a problem with Mirai's cousins, though. Both Amuro and Hayato were able to communicate with them in Japanese, which helped to smooth some things. They helped Mirai and Naoko serve as translators.

            But the next day become a bit more chaotic. Those guests that were not part of the _White Base crew become bored of the repetition of war stories, excluding Bright's uncle and aunt, who seemed to enjoy them. So Ian suggested to go play a game of doubles tennis because the hotel had an indoor court. Of course, the two he invited were Mirai's middle cousins, Megumi and Megami. They didn't understand what he was asking._

            "_Anata wa tenisu ga suki desu ka?" asked Megumi, confused._

            "They don't speak English," said Naoko, rolling her eyes.

            "So, then would you and your other sister attend instead?" said Ian, trying to be suave.

            Nikoru understood and nodded her. "Let's, let's!"

            Naoko rolled her eyes again. "Fine."

            So Ian, Paul, Naoko and Nikoru headed to the tennis court.

            "_Gomen nasai, but what is your name?" asked Nikoru._

            Ian paused for a second and then said. "Bond. James Bond."

            Naoko just stared at him. "No... you're not James Bond. He has more sangfroid then you."

            "What in the bloody hell is sangfroid?" asked Ian.

            "You're not suave, nor can you kept calm, nor can you get the ladies."

            "I thought English was your second language," muttered Ian.

            "It is. 'Sangfroid' is a French word."

            "What's his name?" asked Nikoru.

            "Ian Noah," piped up his brother. "And I'm Paul."

            "Ah. _PARU desu," said Nikoru._

            "Sure," said Paul, confused.

            They arrived at the tennis court and started there match. Ian appeared to be a fairly good player, but Paul couldn't quite keep score right, and Nikoru couldn't understand half of what was being said. Naoko was just trying to beat Ian.

            Well, the fun and games ended when Paul fell down after being hit in the head by Nikoru's serve. Though he just skinned his knee, Nikoru insisted in very broken English that he was hurt and needed treatment. Ian and Naoko were tired of trying to beat each another, so it was time to return.

            "So, how did it go?" asked Mirai.

            Ian and Naoko gave her strange looks.

            Mirai sighed. "Okay... Nikoru, what are you doing? _Nani o shimasu ka?"_

            Nikoru had whipped out a bottle of Windex and was aimed to spay it at Paul's skinned knee.

            "_Watashi wa....um, I was going to... fix-o _kare no_, er, fix-o his knee-o!" exclaimed Nikoru._

            "What?" asked Bright.

            "I think she thinks that Windex will 'fix his knee'," translated Mirai.

            "_Hai! _Hai_!" agreed Nikoru._

            Bright used what little knowledge of Japanese he had to disagree. "_Iie, iie."_

            "_Kare wa Windex__ ga suki janai desu ka?" Nikoru asked._

            "Errr..." Bright didn't know how to answer this, but Mirai came to his rescue.

            "Windex _ga suki janai desu_. He doesn't like Windex."

            Nikoru gave a little pout and set the Windex down.

            It was at this time that Bright's cell phone went off. "Hello? This is he..." Bright paused to listen. "Right now? Okay, I understand, sir. I'll be right there."

            "Was that the military? Why do they have your cell phone number? Why do they want you?" asked Mirai.

            "Yes, it was the military, I gave them the cell number because it would be easier, and they think that they've figured out why those guys were after me, so they want me to go to the base," answered Bright.

            "Why can't they tell you on the phone?"

            Bright shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

            "Well, I'm coming with you," replied Mirai.

            He was about to disagree but instead said, "I see why not."

            When they arrived at the military base, they were escorted to the office of General Alf Garnett. Bright had never heard of this general, and was ashamed that he didn't know him. Being that Garnett was a general, that meant he was in the Earth Federation Land Force, which used army ranks, instead of the navy ranks used by the Earth Federation Space Force.

            They entered the office to find a short, balding, old man, with wire rim glasses perched upon his nose, sitting in the big "general" chair. The two men exchanged salutes, and Mirai impulsively saluted too. The general cocked his head in confusion, while Bright tried not to laugh.

            "Sorry, sir. Old habit," explained Mirai, blushing.

            Alf Garnett nodded his head and remained silent.

            "Excuse me, sir, but I was called here to discuss important matters," said Bright. Mirai noticed that his voice had changed back to the militaristic way it was on _White Base_.

            "Yes, yes, yes," Alf Garnett replied. The general then became silent again,

            "Sir--" started Bright.

            "Oh, yes, you see Captain Noah, the men that attacked you and your fiancée were Earth Elite that favored the Zeon and wanted to kill you and the Gundam pilot, Amuro Ray, so that the Zeon could win in the next rebellion."

            "Er, okay, sir," said Bright, "But, if I may ask, why were they singling out me and Amuro?"

            "Let me be blunt will you.  You're one of the best commanders in the Earth Federation. Those men thought that you and Amuro were two of the most powerful men in the Federation," answered Garnett.

            "Really?" asked Bright, surprised.

            "Now, if you excuse me, I have a a meeting with Colonel Bill Oddie." And with that, General Alf Garnett left the room.

            The two got back in car and headed back to the hotel. At first, Mirai chatted about how silly her cousins were. But Bright could read her like a book and asked if something was wrong.

            "It's just every man whose red thread of fate is tied to mine dies or leaves me," she answered.

            "Well, first of all, you chose to leave Cameron, and second, what is the red thread of fate?"

            "It'd a Japanese thing. Everyone is connected to the people they love and care about by thread," Mirai explained.

            "Okay," said Bright, "but I'm still here with you."

            "I was afraid that our thread was cut when those crazy Earth Elite were out to kill you."

            "Did you ever have a hunch that..." Bright trailed off.

            Mirai smiled. "Actually no."

            "Then there was nothing to worry about," reassured Bright.

***

            It was the day before the wedding. Unfortunately, Bright really didn't understand how exactly the ceremony was going to go.  He knew that it was basically going to be like a normal, Christian wedding, but he had also promised Mirai that they could throw in some Japanese traditions.

            So Mirai decided that it was time to sit Bright down and explain it to him. "Unlike Christian weddings, Japanese wedding ceremonies are fairly short," started Mirai.

            "Uh huh," said Bright, nodding his head.

            "First, the couple drinks _sake_, then--"

            "Wait, _sake_?" asked Bright.

            Mirai looked confused. "You don't know what _sake_ is? Oh, well. It's rice wine and the stereotypical Japanese alcoholic beverage. You'll taste it at the rehearsal dinner."

            "Um, okay," replied Bright.

            "Anyway, the groom then reads his vows of commitment, and then the bride reads hers, so that part is similar. That's about it."

            "Really? A very short wedding ceremony indeed."

            "So, I was thinking that it was okay if we added the _sake part in our ceremony before we exchanged rings. Is that fine with you?" asked Mirai._

            "Well, I obviously haven't ever drank it before, but I promised you that we'd have something Japanese in our wedding, plus, we've already got that priest from Japan, so sure."

            That priest was Kenji Matsumoto, who was dubbed "The Shinto-Christian Priest" by Kai. He was a strange and quiet man, but Bright approved of him.

            Finally it was time for the  wedding rehearsal. After practicing the ceremony, the group sat down for dinner. It seemed that Mirai's cousins had brought special _sake_ from Japan for the occasion. How they got it through customs, nobody knows. Anyway, this was Bright's opportunity to try _sake before the wedding. As he learned during the rehearsal that he had to take three sips of it, so he did so now. Bright decided that he didn't like. Meanwhile, Mirai's cousins presented them a envelope with a check worth 1,000 dollars in it. Bright tried to give it back to them, saying that they had plenty of money, but Mirai told him that it was impolite to refuse the wedding gift._

            In the middle of all this, Cameron finally showed up. But there was not much time for chatter, because it getting late, and Bright and Mirai had to explain to everyone what to do tomorrow.

            They headed up to their rooms. Mirai stopped Bright before he entered his.

            "I just wanted to let you know that there is no reason to be nervous," she told him.

            Bright smiled. "And this is coming from someone who worries all the time."

            "I just have a hunch."

            The two kissed and told each good night.

            "I'll see you tomorrow," said Mirai.

            "And I'll see you then, too, future Mrs. Noah."

            Mirai giggled. "Good night."

***

            Bright looked at his watch. 9:45 am. In fifteen minutes, he was marrying the love of his life. He stood there in front of the altar, decked out in his dress uniform. It was now 9:46. He scanned the crowd of people who were getting seated in the chairs. They had seemed to acquire many friends in their young lives. 9:47. Bright felt a hand on his shoulder.

            "Not nervous, are ya?" asked Amuro, dressed in a tuxedo.

            "No, just wishing it was ten o'clock already," replied the groom.

            "It will be shortly," Amuro, then returned to his spot.

            Finally, it was that time. The little old lady in front of the organ played the opening chords of "Here Comes the Bride".

            Frau and Sayla came down the aisle wearing their light violet bridesmaid dresses.  Kikka, Katsu, and Retsu were the flower "children", being that the two boys complained about not having a part in the wedding ceremony.  Then following them was the blushing bride, however, Mirai wasn't blushing, just smiling.

            The ceremony ran smoothly, even _sake_ part.  After they were pronounced man and wife, the entire group went to the hotel reception hall.

            Amuro had insisted that he had give a best man's speech. Bright was worried that Amuro would bring up those times on_ White Base_ when used to clobber the Gundam pilot. But Amuro promised not to bring up those times.

            He stood in front of the crowd and raised his glass for silence. "Everyone, join me in a toast in congratulations for Mr. and Mrs. Noah!" Then he promptly sat down and poured himself some _sake_.  

            The party wore on, but all good things must come to an end. Frau ended up catching the bouquet because Sayla dodged it. 

            The newlyweds waved good-bye to everyone, then went up to their hotel room.

            "Bright, I've finally found my home."

            "And were is that?"

            "Whatever you are."

Well, how did you like it? Actually, this is not the end, my friends. As you notice, there is an epilogue!


	13. Epilogue

"In Love and War"

By Lady Une-chan

**Epilogue**

            Although Mirai and Bright wanted to start having children after they were married for a year, things didn't go as planned and Mirai conceived early in their marriage.  Their first child, Hathaway Noah, was born on November 1st, U.C. 0080. They continued to live in London until after the birth of their daughter, Cheimin, when the military had Bright move to the Hong Kong base. He then became the captain of the cruiser _Temptation._

             While traveling all over the world, Sayla finally became a doctor. Despite their efforts, none of the former _White Base crew members could keep in contact with her, due to all of her globe-trekking._

            The Earth Federation had Amuro move to Cheyenne, Wyoming. He started a Haro toy company, thinking that every child needed a green robot.

            Frau and Hayato eventually got married after living with each other for about a year. They officially adopted Kikka, Katsu, and Retsu and moved to the Sunshine State of Florida.

            Kai decided to become a journalist and photographer. He too had fun traveling all over the place.

            But in U.C. 0087 a group of Earth Federation officers formed Titans... but that's not my story... that's _Zeta Gundam_...

Okay, this is actually the end. Thank you all for reading. Please review! No flames! I'm thinking about writing bloopers for this fic, so maybe this isn't the end. I mean, it's the end, but... oh, whatever.

Sayonara!

Lady Une-chan (a.k.a. Mirai ^_~)


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